Painful Pasts and New Beginnings
by Shlandria
Summary: This is a Ranma1/2, Naruto crossover. Ranma goes to Naruto's world and takes him in and gives him a big family, he also has control of the Neko-ken.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 1**

Pain, unimaginable pain. It was excruciating, there was nothing but pain, agony. There was no thought, no other feeling, nothing. Her world was pain. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, her voice long gone. Her body was twisting and turning, writhing in agony. However she did not know this, nor would she for some time.

How did she get here, how long had she been here, why was she in such pain, how could she get away, get help? Those thoughts and many more had flown through here mind at one point in time; however that was before her world became agony. Now there was no room for such thoughts, only the white hot pain.

At first there had only been darkness, then a damp smell, like a cave dug from the earth, then the smell of fish, dead fish and other fish smells. After that she saw eyes, yellow and silted eyes looking at her, scaring her, there were so many eyes. Then she heard a terrible noise, and before she could identify it, she felt pain. Something was biting her, clawing her, she tried to get away, but she couldn't move. Now she was terrified out of her mind in a world of agony, being eaten alive and bleeding profusely.

Somewhere in a tiny corner of her mind, she knew she would die, possibly soon. If she didn't die from blood loss, she would be eaten alive. There was no one to help her. She had cried when she realized what was happening to her, when the questions were there, but like her voice, her tears were long gone. She had lost hope, when she lost her voice and tears, this would be her grave, and no one would even know where to find her.

* * *

He was wandering through the woods, thinking. Thanks to his pops his life was royally messed up. He needed a way out, an honorable way out. If he were anyone else he wouldn't have cared so much, however honor is what he values above all else. He wanted a way out without damaging anyone's honor. Who was he kidding? He was so desperate; he was contemplating destroying his own personal honor, which he held above even his family's, if it meant salvaging everyone else's.

Why did he hold his honor even above his family's? That was simple enough to answer; his father had all but destroyed his family's honor with his actions. Why value honor so much? That was easy too. Because it was all he had that was of any value.

He was smarter than most thought; he was simply acting to buy time, time for a way out of this mess. Currently he has two fiancés, one wife, by her village's law only, and a crazy girl, no make that a crazy rich girl, all vying for his hand in marriage. All with legal claims, well except for the crazy rich girl. Did he love any of them? Did he even like them? Even he wasn't sure.

Not only did he have that mess to deal with, he had rivals and enemies coming out of the wood work. So far though, only five of them hung around for any length of time to bother him the most. Two are back in china, and he hopes they will stay there. And the other main ones are mostly just annoyances.

Now he was walking through the woods, trying desperately to find a solution. No one was there to distract him, simply because he had told them he was going on a training trip for a week and would be back, after that, he had made sure he was long gone before they even thought of following him or looking for him. Despite what they all thought, when he wanted to keep from being found, he could do so.

He was 17 and would be 18 in a month, was (4'10") tall, Japanese, had black hair, his bangs hanging slightly in his blue eyes, the rest tied into a pigtail in the back with a dragon's whisker. He was wearing a red Chinese shirt and black silk pants tied at the ankle. He also wore slipper like shoes on his feet.

As he was thinking about his problems, he caught a whiff of something disturbing, not only that, but his sixth sense was screaming that something was wrong, extremely wrong. Since it was a scent that started the alarms going off in his head, he decided he needed to identify it, and then possibly investigate. First though he needed to hide, because he wasn't sure if it was even safe at the moment.

Once he was sure he was well hidden, he did something most thought impossible, he activated the neko-ken, since his sense of smell was far grater like that than if he were to use his ki to enhance it.

Once the neko-ken was activated, he began sorting through the smells coming from the surrounding forest, automatically categorized them and filing them away until he came to the one that didn't belong. 'Blood, and human blood at that, not good, it's fresh too, this is very bad. That means someone's in trouble, better be careful though, I don't want to walk into an ambush.' He thought as he remembered doing something similar, not long after he had gained control of the neko-ken. He was just lucky his sensei was there to bail him out that time.

Slowly, cautiously, he moved towards the scent of blood, every sense on high alert, every nerve taught and ready for action. As he moved closer, he continued to test the air, trying to discern whether it was a trap or not, and what condition the person was in. Soon he was close enough to tell that it was not a trap, this however only worried him more. 'I can smell two people one male and one female, the scents are similar as well, that means that they are related. The male is older, possibly father and daughter or uncle and niece and only one of them is still here, the female. The male left already, days ago by the smell of things.' He thought to himself.

Now he moved quicker, intent on finding the girl. He knew, without a doubt, the blood he could smell was hers and he was worried. It didn't take him long to find where she was. When he got closer however, he began swearing under his breath at the other scents he was picking up. 'Cat and fish, now I'm really worried, no one is as stupid as pops, right? No one else would teach _that_ technique, would they?' He thought worryingly.

Once he got to the spot the scents were the strongest he _knew_ someone _was_ that stupid. Whoever it was had not only covered the pit the girl was in, they piled dirt on top to ensure that it would be extremely hard to find. In fact if it weren't for the heightened senses he got from the neko-ken, especially the sense of smell, he would never have found it.

He immediately began digging with his ki claws and hands, until he had the pit uncovered. The smell was unbearable; however the sight that he found was worse. There was a girl in there, younger than him, but not by much, maybe by a couple of years. The only way he knew this was her scent and size.

She was a bloody mess, and there were cats crawling all over her. What was worse, was the fact that he could see bones from where they had torn into her. She had already lost a great deal of blood and her breathing was ragged and slow, worse yet was that her heart beat was weak and erratic.

She needed immediate medical attention. He assessed her in mear seconds and was in the pit throwing the cats off of her, growling feraly at them when they tried to approach her, and attacking and killing the ones that ignored him in favor of their meal. Once she was free of cats, he picked her up as carefully as he could and leapt out of the pit and set her down so he could tend to her wounds and keep her stable enough to get her to a hospital.

His main concerns were the wounds showing bone and the deeper lacerations. He set to work cleaning those and binding them, thanking Kami he had been taught to carry medical supplies wherever he went. While he was doing this he was trying to determine where the nearest hospital was, unfortunately, it was over five miles away, by foot, she would never make it. Even if he got her to a road and found transportation, or managed to find a phone and call for an ambulance, at best, she would die in route. This of course prompted some colorful curses as he tried to find a way to get her the help she desperately needed on time.

Once he had her wounds bandaged up, he automatically grabbed some blood clotting pills and food pills and forced them down her throat, as he was doing this, he remembered where exactly he got them and realized that he could take the girl there for the help she needed. It would be risky getting her there on time, but that was the only option he could think of that _might_ have a _chance_ of her living. Without another thought, he began to create a gateway to where he needed to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 2**

A bright flash later and he was outside of a very familiar village. He immediately checked on the girl he had brought with him, and was glad she was still alive, if just barely. That done, he restablized her and forced more blood clotting and food pills down her throat. He then gently picked her up and ran as fast as he could to get her to the hospital and the medical staff there.

Because of the amount of energy needed for the jutsu to create the gateway, many in the village had felt it. Fearing an attack, the guards were on high alert and there were even a few ANBU teams at the gate by the time he arrived, which was not good considering he was in a hurry. With the help of the ANBU, they managed to make him stop in his tracks. Luckily for him, he still had the neko-ken activated, and looked rather intimidating. He stopped only long enough to give them a feral look and growled out "MOVE!" using his ki to enhance his voice, giving them pause. He was then on his way to the hospital. The only thing anyone in the village saw was a red and black blur. The ANBU were on his tail a second after he had gotten past them however, so he knew he would have to deal with them soon.

The Guards and ANBU were on high alert, because of the massive energy spike minutes before, when they saw someone running so fast, that they were only a blur, and heading straight for them and the village. They all tensed, ready for battle, and tried to stop the person. Luckily the person stopped, revealing a boy that looked similar to a cat. He had cat ears on the top of his head, and a tail swaying behind him, black with white and red tiger stripes. He also had whiskers.

They were not sure if he was a demon or not, but he looked very feral. They noticed he had someone in his arms, hurt badly and wondered if he had hurt them. Then he made eye contact with each of them quickly, but long enough for them to see that his eyes were silted. He then growled out "MOVE!" and they got a good look at his fangs. Immediately after that, he ran past them and it took a moment for the guards to recover. The ANBU however, had already recovered and were giving chase. Seeing this, the guards eyed the forest outside of the village and hoped that there were no more of whatever the boy was out there.

He did manage to make it to the hospital on time, the ANBU right behind him, however they did nothing, seeing the state the person in his arms was in and where his destination was. The moment he was in the hospital, he was calling for a doctor; luckily there was one nearby, who wasn't afraid of his appearance and came to help. As soon as the girl was in the emergency room, being taken care of, a medic nin who knew what he was, came to see if he was injured. He just glared at them, growled and told them he was fine and to take care of the girl. They were too afraid to push him, and so they did as he asked. Since he seemed fine, the ANBU decided it was time to take the stranger into custody and inform the Hokage about him and what they knew.

* * *

He saw the ANBU coming towards him and knew it would be best to just go with them, the girl was in good hands, and that was all that really mattered. He supposed it would be best if he apologized to them as well, since he had been a bit rude and knew he had scared them as well as the guards. He decided to keep the neko-ken active for now as well, no need causing more problems for himself. Once they got close enough, he turned to them, took a step forward, and bowed to them. "I am sorry for my actions earlier; I was worried about the girl and wished only to get her the medical attention she was desperately in need of." He told them in an apologetic tone, slightly rolling his rs. Seeing him acting politely, they decided to be just as civil. "We understand, however you must now come with us." Said the head ANBU. "I understand, and I will come peacefully." The boy replied still rolling his rs. They led the now cooperative being straight to the Hokage's office and in front of the Hokage himself. 

Once in the Hokage's office, the boy recognized the head of the village. 'That's odd, the last time I was here niisan was the Hokage, not jiji. I wonder what happened.' He thought. He then did something that startled, confused and upset the ANBU all at once. Luckily for them their faces were covered by their masks, though that didn't stop the boy from smelling their mixed reactions and causing him to flash a quick, knowing smirk.

He began purring, walked right up to the Hokage, and then promptly sat or more like crouched at the Hokage's side and leaned against him slightly. The poor ANABU members were not sure how to react. They were supposed to protect the Hokage, yet the boy was not acting in a threatening manor and the Hokage didn't seem to mind. The boy then purred out, barely audible, "jiji" almost like a sigh. The Hokage only gave a slight chuckle and told his ANBU that it was ok, while ruffling the boy's hair and scratching behind his ears.

After he assured them, the Hokage dismissed the ANBU so that he could talk to the boy alone. Before he could say anything however, the boy spoke up. "Jiji, where is niisan? His scent should be everywhere, but I can't smell him."

Though he knew he would have to tell the boy, he had been hoping to put it off for a time. Sadly, he knew they would get nowhere until he answered this question. Hopefully the boy would understand. 'I can't blame him for wanting to know. He is naturally curious, and was very close to _his niisan_.' Sarutobi thought.

"I'm sorry Ranma, he is gone. He died protecting this village from the Nine tailed Demon Fox." He said. Ranma just gave him a sad smile and said "It's ok jiji, he died a hero then, and while protecting all of his precious people and the village he loved." "I'm glad you feel that way Ranma." Sarutobi said.

"Ranma, would you mind telling me why you startled the guards and were hostile to the ANBU earlier?" Sarutobi said in a more authorative voice, falling into the roll of Hokage once more. "A girl, she was badly injured and in need of immediate medical assistance." Ranma replied with a hint of worry in his voice. "Please explain Ranma. How badly injured was she? Surly you could have taken a minute to explain." Sarutobi said. "No, I could _not_ take a minute, she didn't _have_ one jiji." Ranma replied almost vehemently. "She was near _dead_ jiji. I did what I _had_ to." Though he didn't show it, Sarutobi was worried. He knew without a doubt, that Ranma was telling him the absolute truth. I want a full oral report, _now_ Jounin Satome, _then_ I want you to give a full written one." The third ordered, completely serious. The way Ranma had stressed certain words told him the boy, even if subconsciously, had treated this like a mission and he wanted to know why.

Ranma had not moved from his position since he had sat down beside _his jiji_; however when he heard this he got up and sat in a chair on the other side of the Hokage's desk. "Yes Hokage sama." He replied, and then began a full detailed account of what had happened to lead him to the girl, and prompted him to bring her to the village.

* * *

"_I was in my world, taking a walk deep in the woods to clear my mind when something felt _off_. For some reason I suddenly felt ill at ease, and instinctively went on high alert. It didn't help when I caught a scent that didn't belong. I wasn't sure what it was, and was ready to react at the slightest sound. I decided to find a safe place to hide, and then figure out what had me so on edge. Once I was hidden, I activated the neko-ken. I then began sorting through the various scents nearby to determine what was wrong and what that scent was. It didn't take me long to realized that the scent was blood. Jiji… it was _human bloodfresh human blood, _and a _lot_ of it."_ Here Ranma paused to calm himself down a little bit. It was obvious he was upset. 

"_Once I realized what I was smelling was human blood, I began following the scent to see what had happened. I had to see if the person could be helped. I moved cautiously, not wanting to spring a trap. When I got closer, I could tell that whoever was bleeding was female. I began moving faster, staying on alert. When I was even closer, I caught the scent of another person, a male, however that scent was days old. After that I all but flat out ran to where the smell of blood was strongest. If I had not been using the neko- ken, I would have passed right by her. She was in a covered pit; the cover was covered in dirt and well hidden. I began digging her out with my ki claws and hands. I didn't stop until the pit was completely uncovered. Jiji, what I saw…" _Here he had to pause again, emotions playing across his face. Anger, sorrow, understanding and a look of near helplessness were the most prominent. He wanted to lash out in anger and cry for the girl; however, he reigned in his emotions so he could continue his story.

"_At first all I saw was a mass of fur, dirt and blood. All I could smell was _bloodearth_ and _cats_. Then some of the cats moved and I saw her. You could see _bone_ from where they had been tearing into her. _Bone _jiji, and not just in one or two places. Just looking at her, you would have thought she was dead._ Here he paused to calm down again._ I could faintly make out a weak heart beat. I immediately jumped down into the pit and threw the cats off of her. While I was doing this, some of them tried to challenge_my_ authority. I hissed and growled at them, forcing them to layoff, the ones that didn't I killed. Once she was free of the cats, I gathered her as gently as I could and jumped back out of the pit. Once out, I put her down gently and began assessing her wounds. Cleaning and bandaging the worst._

_As I was doing this, I was going over my options. The nearest hospital was over five miles by foot and there weren't any nearby roads. Every way I looked at it, she would die before she got to a hospital. After I had the worst of her injuries taken care of, I began forcing some blood clotting pills and food pills down her throat. That's when I realized I could bring her here. It was the best option I could come up with and the only one that gave her a chance of living. I didn't hesitate jiji, I did what I felt was necessary to save her life._

_Once I had transported us outside of the village, I made sure she was stable, forced more blood clotting pills and food pills down her throat. I then ran as fast as I dared to get her to the hospital. She had already lost a lot of blood and was practically knocking at death's door. When I saw the ANBU as well as the guard I just reacted. I paused only long enough to roar at them to move, then I was on my way again. I did apologize and followed the ANBU peacefully after I made sure the girl was being taken care of."_ Ranma said, clearly very upset.

"Ranma, you stay here and work on a written report, I'll go see how the girl is doing. I'll also see to it you are not disturbed." Sarutobi said more gently, getting up and hugging the upset boy. "Ok. Jiji, please tell me how she is when you come back." Ranma said, worry showing in his eyes. "Don't worry Ranma, I will." Sarutobi replied. "Thank you jiji." Ranma said as the third walked out of the office. As soon as the Hokage left and the doors were closed, Ranma got an empty scroll and began working on the written report, wanting to get it done as soon as possible, the memories of what had happened still fresh in his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 3**

Once the doors were closed, The Hokage turned to his secretary, "No one is to enter my office. Not even the council." "Yes Hokage sama." She replied. With that the Hokage headed straight to the hospital, intent on seeing for himself the condition the girl was in. Luckily, no one interrupted him and he made it to the hospital in a matter of moments. Once there he asked the staff about the girl that had been brought in earlier. It didn't take long for the doctor in charge to come see him.

"Hello Hokage sama, I was told you are interested in my patient." He said. "Yes, I was told she was in critical condition when she was brought in. I would like to know how she is." The Hokage replied. "Yes, you heard right Hokage sama; we've been doing everything we can for her.

Currently we have her stabilized; however it is too early to tell if she'll even make it. It looks like something was eating her alive Hokage sama; do you know how she came to be this way? I'm also worried about the boy who brought her in. He was covered in blood, but he refused treatment. He seemed very worried about her." The doctor said. "I see, you don't need to worry about the boy.

I have spoken to him and he is quite fine." The Hokage said. "So it was the girl's blood then." The doctor said more to himself than anything. "Hokage sama, if we were to know what happened to the girl, it might help." The doctor said. "All I can tell you is that she was mauled by cats." The Hokage replied. "That still helps Hokage sama; I must get back to my patient now, thank you." The doctor replied, leaving to inform the others working on the girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 4**

Meanwhile, at the Hokage tower, Sarutobi's secretary was having trouble. Mainly, a certain hyper blond boy who could _not_ seem to take _no_ for an answer. "I'm sorry Naruto, but the Hokage said _no one_ was to enter his office, _not even the council_." She said for the umpteenth time. "I don't _care_! Just let me _in_ already!" Naruto said quite loudly, _again_. The poor secretary wanted to strangle the boy. Normally she had nothing against the hyper blond boy, and secretly found some of his pranks very funny; however, right now she was at her whit's end. Naruto was very stubborn.

Ranma had been _trying_ to finish his report for five minutes now; however someone was outside the office yelling about being let in and was _not_ letting up. Whoever it was, by the sound of the voice, it was a kid, a stubborn kid. Ranma sighed and got up. It looked like he was going to have to take care of things himself if he wanted any quiet. He walked to the door and opened it, intent on dealing with the kid and finishing his report. He quickly noticed how frazzled the secretary was, and looked to where she was to see the source of her frustration. 'Yep, definitely a kid.' He thought.

Neither the kid nor the secretary had noticed him, so he made himself known. "That is enough!" he stated calmly, with a hint of ki in his voice. Both of them turned to see him, stopping their argument immediately. "What the heck! I thought no one was allowed in there, so why is _he_, huh?" Naruto yelled at the secretary, pointing at Ranma. "I don't_know_ Naruto!" the secretary said. "Excuse me…" she began only to be cut off. "I said that was _enough_!" Ranma said a bit louder, letting a bit of anger and ki lace his voice. At this, they both stopped again. Before they could say anything further, he spoke up, intent on getting back to the safe haven known as the Hokage's office.

He looked at the secretary and said "Hokage sama asked you to keep everyone _out_, correct?" "Yes, but…" the secretary said getting over run by the boy again. "Try keeping them _quiet_ too, I am _trying_ to write a report for him. You, _kid_, Naruto I believe it was? I'd rather have _quiet_ than be alone right now. As it seems you will _not_ keep quiet until you are let in, you might as well get in here." Ranma then turned back to the secretary. "_Please_ keep the noise level down out here." He then turned around and walked back into the office quickly followed by Naruto.

The secretary had noticed that the older boy looked a bit strange, but was too caught up in her fight with Naruto and trying to do her job, that she had failed to realize what was so strange about him until he and Naruto were in the Hokage's office and the door was closed. Then she realized what was so strange about the boy.

He looked 17 or 18, was 4'10" tall, Japanese, had black hair, his bangs hanging slightly in his blue eyes, the rest tied into a pigtail in the back. He was wearing a red Chinese shirt and black silk pants tied at the ankle. He also wore slipper like shoes on his feet. He had two cat ears on the top of his head, a tail swishing back and forth behind him, and he even had fangs and whiskers. His ears and tail were black with white and red tiger like stripes. 'He's cute' was the only thought that came to her mind.

* * *

Naruto had noticed the older boy immediately and noted the ears, tail, whiskers and fangs, buy they didn't faze him. He just assumed that the older boy was using a Henge.

Once they were both inside, Ranma closed the door and then promptly went back to the desk and his work. "Hey man, thanks for getting me in here, where's the old man anyway?" Naruto said. Ranma looked up and with an inaudible sigh, he really _did_ want to finish that report as soon as possible after all, however he decided that the best thing to do was answer the brat. "Hokage sama's not here right now. He'll be back later; you can wait for him here. The only reason I let you in here, was because you weren't being _quiet_. Now _please_ let me finish this report." Ranma replied, already stressed from the day's events. Naruto was going to say something else, however he could see that the older boy was stressed out and didn't want to anger him. It only took another couple of minutes for Ranma to finish his report. Rolling it up and putting it where he was sure the Hokage would see it, he gave a sigh and walked over to a couch that was hidden in a corner.

Giving another sigh, he plopped down on the couch and tried to calm himself down. Naruto saw this and wondered what was wrong with the older boy. He decided he would see if the boy wanted to talk to him, so far this stranger had _not_ shown him any of the hate the villagers did, maybe they could be friends? Decision made, he walked up to Ranma and said "Hi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours?" Ranma looked up at the boy and decided to be polite to the kid. 'No use both of us being upset.' Ranma thought. "I'm Ranma Satome." "You must be new here, where are you from?" Naruto asked. "I 'm not exactly new to this village kid; I've just been away for awhile." Ranma replied trying in vain to banish the images of that girl in the pit and failing miserably. "Oh, ok then!" Naruto said.

He was going to say something more when he saw the boy lie down on the couch and curl up into a tight ball. "Um, are you ok, I mean are you _sick_ or something." Naruto asked worried about his new possible friend. "I'm not sick, why did you think that?" Ranma asked looking up at Naruto with a small, sad smile and a tear marking a track down his cheek. "It's just, I curl up like that if my stomach hurts, so I thought you might be sick." Naruto said then saw the tear. He sat down beside the older boy then asked still a bit worried, "Are you sure you're ok? Why do you look so sad?" Ranma curled back up and gave a sad sigh before answering. "I'm ok; I'm just worried about someone." He then began to silently cry, trembling a bit. "Um, Ranma san?" Naruto asked, not sure what to do or say. That was all it took however and Ranma wrapped him up in a hug and cried. All Naruto could do was pat the older boy's back a bit awkwardly and let him cry. 'I wonder why he's so sad. Naruto thought.

It took a couple of minutes for Ranma to calm down, when he did, he let go of Naruto and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to startle you." He said while giving the younger boy a watery smile. "It's ok, do you feel better now?" Naruto asked him. "Yeah, thank you." Ranma replied. "So why were you in here by yourself anyway?" Naruto asked. "I had a report to write and was asked to stay here. Why did you want in here so badly?" Ranma replied. "Um, I just wanted to talk to the old man that's all." Naruto answered. Ranma just shrugged at this and sat back up. "He's back, so you can talk to him soon." Ranma said, catching the Hokage's scent and hearing him talking to the secretary. This confused Naruto since the doors had not even opened yet. Before he could say anything though, the doors opened and there stood the Hokage. He went to ask the other boy how he did that when something really strange happened.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 5**

As soon as the doors opened and he saw _his jiji, _he was up and took a flying leap at the man with a cry of "Jiji!" right before he knocked the Hokage down. He was so deep into the neko-ken at that point in time because of the recent events, that he actually had a light covering of fur on his face and arms, black with white stripes like his ears and tail. He also had a bit of white and red in his hair as well as a bit of a snout.

All Naruto, the secretary, and the guards saw was a red and black blur practically teleport from the office and throw itself at the Hokage crying "jiji!" The Hokage saw him coming, but didn't have time to brace himself; he knew who it was though. Only one person fit that description, and it was Ranma. As soon as he had _his jiji_ sitting on the floor, he promptly sat in the man's lap. He then began rubbing his snout against the man's chest, emitting a slight purring noise from deep within his throat. The Hokage simply chuckled and began scratching behind the boy's ears saying "Did you miss me Ranma?" Ranma only purred louder leaning into the Hokage's hand. Now everyone, Naruto, the secretary, and the guards could hear the purring.

A minute after Ranma began purring loudly, his purring stopped all together and he started trembling, shaking like a leaf, burying his face into his jiji's shoulder crying silent tears. The Hokage immediately picked the boy up. "Come Ranma, let's go into my office." The Hokage said in a calm, caring voice.

Glancing at the guards and then looking at his secretary, he told them he was not to be disturbed. He then carried the crying boy into his office and closed the door. Then he carried the boy to his couch and sat down. "Um, is Ranma san ok jiji?" Naruto asked the Hokage, making his presents known.

The Hokage looked at Naruto and said "He'll be fine Naruto; he's just a bit upset. Why don't you come over here and sit down and tell me how you came to meet Ranma, as well as how you got into my office Naruto." Naruto listened to the Hokage and sat down on the couch too, he then told the third what had lead him to meet the older boy. By the time he was done telling the Hokage, Ranma had calmed down and sat in a more comfortable position in Sarutobi's lap, resting his head against his jiji's shoulder and watching Naruto talk. 'He's very hyper, but I see so much sadness in those eyes. He's also very expressive.' Ranma thought with a small smile, as he watched Naruto.

* * *

"He was making quite a racket out there jiji, yelling, hollering and arguing with the secretary." Ranma said quietly, with a soft chuckle, still leaning against his jiji. "I let him come in here just to get some peace and quiet." He said. "Hey, I wasn't that bad." Naruto said getting upset. "At this, Ranma and the Hokage started chuckling. "You're right otouto, you were worse!" Ranma said, now laughing. Naruto started to get madat that, that is, until he heard the word otouto. "Wait, otouto?" he said a bit confused. Ranma just chuckled and said "Of course, you are _my_ otouto." Ranma said while cocking his head slightly to the side, his tail moving back and forth in a calm manner.

Naruto started to cry upon hearing this; no one had ever considered him a_friend_ let alone family before. "You really mean it?" He asked. When Ranma saw Naruto cry, he picked the boy up and held him in his arms. "Of course I mean it, Hokage sama is _my jiji_ and _you_ are _my otouto_." Ranma said giving the younger boy a hug. "No one has ever called me friend, let alone family before." Naruto said crying even more. Ranma frowned at this. He gave his otouto a bigger hug and began rubbing the boy's back in a soothing manner while telling him in a gentile voice, "It's ok now otouto, I'm here now, everything will be ok." It took a few minutes, but Naruto finally cried himself out and fell asleep in his new aniki's arms. Ranma put his otouto down on the couch and moved some stray hair from his face, a soft smile on his face.

He then turned to the Hokage with a serious look on his face, releasing the neko-ken. "Jiji he's so sad, his heart hurts, why?" Ranma demanded. "The villagers don't treat him very well, I do what I can, however he needs more than what I can give him, he needs a family." The Hokage said." He's an orphan then." Ranma stated more than asked. "Yes Ranma, he lost his family twelve years ago during the Kyuubi attack." The Hokage said.

"Why hasn't anyone adopted him?" Ranma asked. "Sadly, not many villagers care about or like him." The Hokage replied. "Why do they treat him like that jiji? He's not a bad kid." Ranma said. "I am sorry Ranma that's not something I can tell you." The Hokage replied. "That's a bunch of bull and we both know it jiji." Ranma growled out. "It's the same reason he smells like a fox, isn't it jiji?" Ranma said, startling the Hokage.

Ranma said more softly, giving a slight smirk, showing he was already piecing things together. "You might as well tell me jiji; you know i'll figure it out eventually." "Very well Ranma, you have to understand though, this is an _S class secret_." The Hokage replied, glancing at the sleeping form of Naruto. "If you're worried about him waking up, I doubt he'll be up any time soon jiji and you know I can keep a secret. Ranma said.

"_Officially_, the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyuubi no Kitsune, dieing in the process, and saving the village he loved. _The truth_ is that the nine tailed demon fox was too strong. In a last ditch effort, he managed to seal the Kyuubi into the belly of a newborn child, sacrificing his life to do so. He had hoped the child would be seen as a hero, however the villagers are too narrow minded and only see the child as the Kyuubi. As you have probably already figured out, that boy is Naruto." The Hokage told Ranma. "That's why I smell fox in his scent." Ranma said.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 6**

"Jiji, I need some advice. I was going to ask niisan but, well since I can't…" Ranma said, changing topics. "It's alright Ranma, I understand. What do you need?" The Hokage asked. Ranma sighed, and then started to tell his jiji his problems, hoping his jiji would have a better idea on what to do than he did.

"Jiji, do you remember the last time I showed up here? Do you remember _why_ I ended up here?" Ranma asked. "Yes, of course I do Ranma. You showed up out of nowhere, acting like a cat and terrified out of your mind. No one could get near you except the Yondaime Hokage. It took a few weeks of effort on his part just to get you to trust myself and a few others, and several weeks more to snap you out of it. Why did you ask? Don't tell me your father is the one who did that to that girl." The Sandaime Hokage replied.

"No that was someone else. It's just, that's not the only stupid thing he's done." Ranma said. "Yes, I remember you telling us some of his training methods, like throwing you off of buildings to teach you how to land properly." The Hokage said. "Well, um, yeah, there was that but, that's not what I mean." Ranma replied.

"During our training trip he engaged me to multiple girls and I had no idea about them until recently. At the end of the trip he took me to a cursed training ground. It looked ordinary enough, bamboo pools sticking out of different pools of water. However the cat in me was screaming at me to run from the place as fast as I could.

Somehow the old fool managed to goad me up onto the bamboo polls and we started sparing. I got a hit in early on and knocked him into a pool of water. I was ready to leave then, but a panda came out of the pool of water he had landed in and took one of his favorite stances. I was so shocked; all sense flew out the window. He knocked me into a pool of water while I was standing there like an idiot. I tried to move at the last second to try to land on the ground but, I hit water. When I came up, I was a girl. Jiji it was bad enough seeing pops as a panda, but I was a _girl_. I nearly had a mental breakdown then and there, but I decided to beat on that worthless panda calling himself my father. The cat in me was in agreement so I chased him down and let him feel my anger.

After that, the guide there told us the curses weren't permanent. Hot water would change us back, and cold water would activate the curse. We asked if he knew of a cure, but he didn't, he told us the Amazon's might though.

There was a village of them nearby, so we went there to ask. They were having a tournament to see who would end up being their village champion when we got there. Stupid pops decided to eat the feast that they had set up for the winner of the contest.

The winner got angry, I thought I would save pop's butt, and since the food was a prize at the time, I challenged her, thinking if I won, the prize would be mine, she excepted. Her great grandmother was translating for the both of us. I fought her and won, but they failed to mention a few rules about there village which stated if a warrior was defeated by an outsider female, they were to give her the kiss of death and chase her to the ends of the earth and kill her. If she was defeated by an outsider male, they were to give him the kiss of marriage and bring him into the tribe to strengthen it. I was in my cursed form at the time which meant I was female.

She chased us the whole way to Japan from China jiji. All so she could kill me! Once she found out about my curse, I ended up defeating her in my true form, as a male, while trying to defend myself. Now she thinks we're married! I wasn't even in her village that time jiji!

Not only that but, I found out about the engagements pops set up. Most of them can be written off as charity, but there are two that are valid and they literally fight over me! Between them, the Amazon, and a crazy chick that keeps chasing me, the others have all given up there claims anyway. I am honor bound to Akane or baring that one of her sisters and Ukyou. Shampoo's law states that we are already married. To top it all off, they fight over me like I'm a piece of property! I don't love _any_ of them. Ukyou was my friend and I'm willing to be _just_ friends, heck she is more like a sister to me, an annoying sister, but still. Akane beats on me every chance she gets. I would just end everyone's engagements, but they are all bound by honor as well, and so am I. I don't know what to do jiji; I am at my whit's end." Ranma said clearly stressed.

The Hokage had to have Ranma clarify a few things as well as give him more details, but he eventually got the information he needed to help the poor stressed out boy. "Well the amazons are easy enough, there laws only apply in there village and with a bit more training here, you should be able to send them away, however, I believe you already had a plan for them, am I correct?" The Hokage said. "Yes, I have seen there law book and have learned their language, I'm merely putting on an act for them right now." Ranma said.

* * *

"You are about eighteen now right? The only way out for you to get out of the other engagements is to change your name." The Hokage said. "What do you mean jiji? Ranma asked. "The engagements are to one Ranma Satome, correct?" The Third asked, knowing the boy would figure it out. "Yes but…oh, I get it jiji! It's not _my_ honor at stake, it's the _Satome__family_ honor that is, and the panda has already tarnished that a great deal. If I change my name, I don't need to put on an act anymore either! Thank you jiji! You're the greatest!" Ranma said enthusiastically. "You are quite welcome my boy." The Hokage replied with a smile.

"Um jiji, can I change my name here too? I think it'll be easier that way." Ranma said. "Of course, do you have anything in mind?" The Hokage replied. Ranma thought for a moment, and then said "Yeah, how about Ryu Mouko, and can I adopt Naruto into my family? He can be Naruto Mouko." "That's fine, I like the name you picked out, it suits you and I think it's appropriate. As for Naruto, you will have to ask him. Let me get the paperwork while you talk to him." The Hokage replied, seeing Naruto waking up. "Ok jiji." Ranma said watching Sarutobi leave the office to get the paper work he would need to fill out.

Ranma had sensed Naruto waking up, but was glad to see his jiji had been paying attention as well. He turned to Naruto intent on making the younger boy his family. "Hey, you're finally awake otouto. Are you feeling better?" He asked the younger boy. "Yeah, thanks aniki." Naruto said with a grin.

"Aniki, I like the sound of that. Hey, I have a question for you otouto." Ranma said. "Um, ok aniki, what is it?" Naruto asked him. "How would you feel about changing your last name?" Ranma asked, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. "Um, I guess I wouldn't mind, why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I'd like to make you part of my family. It would be just you and me, at least for now." Ranma said, hoping the boy would say yes. "Do you mean it? You really want to adopt me?" Naruto asked with hope in his voice. "Yep, I want to adopt you as my brother. So, what do you say?" Ranma said with a smile.

"Yes! I would gladly change my last name, if it means I finally get a family!" Naruto said with a big grin on his face. "Alright then, when jiji gets back with the paperwork we'll make it official, and you will legally become Naruto Mouko." Ranma said smiling at the boy, and chuckling at the confused look that crossed his face. "Um wouldn't it be Naruto Satome, since that's your last name?" Naruto asked, very confused.

"No otouto, I'm changing my name as well, when we're done I'll be Ryu Mouko and you'll be Naruto Mouko, my little brother." Ranma stated with a grin. "Oh, why are you changing your name though aniki?" Naruto asked in confusion. "I'll tell you later, I promise otouto." Ranma replied sensing the Hokage returning. "Oh, ok." Naruto said smiling once again.

As soon as they were done talking, The Hokage came back into the office with the paperwork they would need. "Did you two have a nice chat while I was gone?" The Hokage asked. "Yeah! Aniki is going to adopt me jiji!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "That's wonderful Naruto!" The Hokage replied to Naruto. "Well, here are the papers you need to fill out to change your name and adopt Naruto into your family." The Hokage said to Ranma while handing him the papers. "Thanks jiji!" Ranma replied taking the papers. He then started filling them out.

After he had them all filled out and signed, Naruto had to sign a few papers. After that, The Hokage made it official. He turned to the boys and said "Congratulations you are now Ryu Mouko and Naruto Mouko, and I am pleased to say you now have family Naruto!" At this Naruto had such a huge grin plastered to his face, Ryu and the Hokage thought it might spilt in half. They could tell it was genuine though, because it reached his eyes.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Ryu and gave him the biggest hug he could muster, and then said "Thank you aniki!" "You're very welcome otouto." Ranma replied, wrapping his arms around the younger boy and hugging him back. "I think we both need to thank jiji as well otouto." He said, and then turned to the Hokage, his arms still wrapped around Naruto and said "Thank you jiji, this means a lot to us both." "Yeah jiji thanks!" Naruto said. "You are both welcome, and I am glad I could help make you two happy. Ryu, you don't need to worry about your ninja status or your funds here, I will take care of everything. You may also stay at your house, I have had some of your friends keep up while you were away, however I suggest you get Naruto's things first." The Hokage said before dismissing them.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 7**

After they left the Hokage's office, Ryu noticed it was growing dark, so they headed straight for Naruto's apartment to get his stuff. On the way there, Ryu noticed the looks the villagers were giving _his otouto_. He also noticed Naruto looking at the ground, not making eye contact with anyone. Ryu decided that this needed rectified so he grabbed his otouto's hand and glared at the villagers.

One of the villagers thought he would be brave; which was stupid on his part. "You should stay away from that boy, he's a little monster." The villager said to Ryu. At this Ryu glared at him and literally growled at him. "I suggest you watch what you say about_my otouto_." Ryu said angrily. The villager was not to be deterred so easily however, which was extremely stupid on his part. "Your otouto? Are you nuts? Yeah I guess you must be. I guess i'll have to _educate_ you then." He said approaching Ryu and Naruto. Several others saw this and decided to help the man _educate_ the older boy.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't know exactly who or what they were dealing with. Not only was Ryu very possessive and protective when it came to those he considered his friends, and more so his family, he was a neko warrior; which is someone who is in full control of the neko-ken.

When some of the villagers ganged up on him and _his otouto_ intent on beating them both up, Ryu to _educate _him, and Naruto just on principal, they made a grave mistake, and ticked Ryu off. He gave them one warning only to run away, and that was a very feral growl standing in front of _his otouto_, showing his fangs, his eyes slitting in anger as he tapped back into the neko-ken. He could faintly smell fear coming from some of them. "This is your only warning, leave _my otouto_ alone or face my wrath." He growled out, snarling angrily at them. Naruto was not sure what to do, usually he ran and found some place safe to hide, however he didn't want to leave his aniki who was protecting him. He quickly realized though, that it would be safer for him to stay behind his aniki, than to run.

Some of the villagers saw Ryu's silted eyes and his fangs and came to the same conclusion. "No wonder he considers that little brat his otouto, he's a monster as well!" the fool said, cries of agreement coming from the crowed. "Let's show these monsters that they are _not_ welcome in our village!" someone yelled, as others cried in agreement.

"Monster?! You _dare_ call a _Neko Warrior_ a monster and _threaten_ his _family_?! You've just made a very grave mistake." Ryu growled out at them, crouching into a strange fighting stance, his knees bent and his back arched slightly, his right hand nearly brushing against the ground, his left held up to chest level, fingers in a clawed position. His fangs were bared and he was growling very feraly, he looked very much like a wild cat in that position. "Leave. Now." He said ominously.

"Let's get him!" Someone said. That was all it took for the mob of villagers to rush at Ryu and Naruto, intent on doing them harm. When they got within feet of Ryu and Naruto, who were backed up against a wall, Ryu acted. He lashed out with fist and foot, tooth and claw. As soon as there was an opening, he yelled "Otouto, run! Go find a safe place to hide, hurry! I'll keep them away from you!"

Naruto did exactly what his aniki said, trusting Ryu to do as he said and keep the angry villagers away from him. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, and as far away from the angry mob as he could get. He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was he had to get away and find some place safe to hide. He was moving on pure instinct. He finally found a cave he had never seen before, and crawled as deeply into it as he could, curling into a ball and trembling in fear. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, in a small corner that was not numb with fear, he hoped his aniki could find him, because he had no idea where he was.

Meanwhile, back in town with Ryu, the villagers had tried to stop Naruto from running, however Ryu kept them from him by any means necessary. Once they all realized they were not going to be able to get Naruto, they focused on Ryu, after all, they could search out the brat later. They didn't realize how vicious Ryu could be however.

You see, when Neko Warriors form a family; it's not always with someone they are related to. Their families are usually called Packs or Prides, because they resemble packs of wolves or prides of lions, in the way they interact and treat each other, Prides being above Packs. They are more loyal to this family than to blood relatives, and Ryu considered Naruto, _his otouto_, part of _his_ _Pride_. This meant that he would fight with all he was worth for the younger boy, in this; he was like a wild animal protecting what was _theirs_.

He clawed at them, punched them, kicked them, head butted them, he even bit them. The unlucky ones not only got bit, he held onto their arm, leg, or whatever else he had bitten into and either tore a chunk out, or held on and shoot his head back and forth, tearing into muscle, and sometimes hitting or breaking bone.

Some of the smarter ones fled, others decided to go get help, conveniently forgetting that they were the ones to start the fight. Between the ones who went for help and the screams and cries of pain from the ones dumb enough to continue fighting Ryu, the ANBU came.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 8**

What they saw was rather gruesome, a bunch of villagers seemed to be defending themselves from someone who was acting like a wild animal. The boy they were fighting looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, and had black hair with red and white highlights. He was growling and snarling at the villagers. They saw him using his fists and feet as well as clawing at them and biting them. He was nearly covered in the blood of the villagers.

Only one of the ANBU teams knew who the boy was, however not even they knew why he was acting like that. They used a special code only they and the few that knew the boy knew, to confer with each other to see how they should handle the situation. They agreed that only they should approach the boy, as they knew him, and the other's didn't. Everyone else would have to handle the villagers; those that didn't need immediate medical attention would need to be taken to see the Hokage to get things straightened out.

Once they had decided, they took charge of the situation They stood in front of the others and gave out orders. Since they were all senior members, they had more authority and none of the others questioned them. "Get the villagers out of there, the ones that need immediate medical attention, take to the hospital, all others are to be taken straight to the Hokage. Do not get within ten feet of the boy, we will deal with him, go." With that, the ANBU got to work. The ones that knew Ryu, knew he would recognize them by their scent, which was why they were going to approach him, not anyone else.

They approached the scene quickly but carefully. The ANBU team dealing with Ryu, began sending the villagers back to the others telling them they would be safe there. They were glad to most of the villagers could move without much help.

Ryu had known the ANBU were there the moment they had stopped on a nearby rooftop, however he quickly dismissed them, the villagers were the dangerous ones and he was bound and determined to protect _his otouto_. He did nothing as they began taking the villagers away from him, however when a group of them approached, he let out a feral growl, warning them to stay back. These particular ANBU knew not to push him, and so they took a step back. They made no hostile movements and were sure to show the boy that they had no weapons out as they watched his body language.

Ryu watched the ANBU members that were closest to him, giving out softer growls, clawing at the air and arching his back a bit. They were very close to crowding his space and becoming a threat. He eyed them carefully, showing his fangs, his silted eyes showing unease. The only reason he was letting them so close was because he recognized their scents, however, he was still on edge and not ready to let anyone near him yet.

The ANBU closest to him saw he was on edge, so they started talking to him in low quiet voices, trying to sooth his frayed nerves, telling him it was ok, and that everything would be ok. They were talking too quietly for anyone else to hear, but they knew he could hear them. It took a couple of minutes, but Ryu finally let them begin approaching him again.

They continued to approach him, despite the occasional growl or snarl, only pausing when he would arch his back and claw at the air. A few minutes after that, they were within five feet of him. They stopped there and only one of them approached Ryu, covering the remaining distance quickly enough. He then crouched down to Ryu's level and began talking to him in a soothing voice, holding his hand out for the boy to sniff. "Easy now, I'm your friend, remember? It's ok, everything will be ok now." He said as Ryu began sniffing his hand. "That's it, see, I'm your friend."

Ryu made a noise somewhere between a growl and a whine, he was on edge, but this was a friend, someone he trusted. The ANBU member heard this and saw the conflicting emotions in the boy's eyes. "Calm down now, everything will be ok, shhh, that's it calm down now." He said to the poor boy. Though Ryu was in complete control of the neko ken, in his mind he was more cat at the moment and the ANBU knew this.

He finally calmed down and gave a half whimper, half whine at the older man, bumping his head against the man's hand. When he did this, the ANBU member could feel him trembling. He ran his fingers through the boy's bloody hair, petting him, and trying to calm him down a bit more.

When he was sure the boy was calm enough, he picked Ryu up, holding him safely in his arms, letting the boy burry his bloody face into his shoulder. "Come on now; let's go see your jiji." The ANBU said in a calm soothing voice." The younger ANBU were amazed at how well the older ones had gotten the crazy boy under control. The older ANBU took Ryu straight to the Hokage's office while the younger ones finished up with the villagers.

Meanwhile, Naruto had had time to calm down a bit, though he stayed curled up in a ball. He was still terrified that the villagers might find him, but he was also worried about his aniki. He had no idea where he was though, so all he could do was hope his aniki was ok.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 9**

In the Hokage's office, it was chaos. Everyone was trying to talk at once, demanding his attention, it didn't help when the ANBU brought a blood covered, stressed out Ryu, who hissed and growled at everyone, especially those who got too close to him, from the safety of the arms of the older ANBU who had brought him in.

The Hokage glanced at the ANBU holding Ryu, making sure the man had a firm hold on the boy. He then decided to get some semblance of order. "That is enough!" The Hokage said adding a bit of chakra to his voice. That was all it took to gain instant quiet, except Ryu who was still hissing and growling, albeit more quietly, at those who got too close to him.

"That's better, now I would like to know exactly _why_ you are all in my office this evening, especially since some of you are injured. I would also like to know why Ryu is acting the way he is." The Hokage said in an authorative tone of voice.

One of the ANBU stepped forward "Sir, my team and I heard cries of help from some of the villagers, while we were on patrol. They said a crazed boy had attacked them and was currently attacking others, so we went to investigate. When we got there, we met up with two other teams. We saw the boy Ryu fighting a large group of villagers; it looked like they were just defending themselves. We spoke with the other two teams and one of the other teams took over. They told us to get the villagers away from the boy and keep them at least ten feet from him. We were also told to get the ones who needed immediate medical attention to the hospital, and to bring the rest here."

"He speaks the truth Hokage sama. The ANBU holding Ryu said. "My team and I had just gotten back from a mission, and had met up with another team on the way. On our way to check in, we heard the sounds of a battle, so we went to check it out. Though it seemed like Ryu here was attacking the villagers, he was only interested in those within five to ten feet of him, he was not chasing after them, and he was not moving far from his spot, it was as if he was protecting something or someone. My team took over, since we know him. We were not sure exactly what happened, and so we had the villagers brought here, hoping to get to the bottom of things." He said.

"That boy attacked us, Hokage sama we were only defending ourselves!" One villager said, cries of agreement coming from the others. "Alright, that is enough." The Hokage said to the villagers. "You said it looked like Ryu was protecting someone or something, did you see what or who he was protecting?" The Hokage asked the ANBU member. "No Hokage sama, there was nothing there and we saw no one else nearby." The ANBU member replied.

"When did the fight start?" The Hokage asked. "It had to have been not long after it started getting dark Hokage sama. We weren't too far away when some of the villagers came and got us." The first ANBU member said. "Did any of you see the young Uzumaki while all of this was going on?" The Hokage asked all of the ANBU members. They all gave him a negative answer. Hearing this he sent another ANBU team to find Naruto, he then had Ryu brought to him.

"Ryu, I know you can understand me. I need you to tell me exactly what happened once you and Naruto left my office this evening." The Hokage said in a calm and clear voice. Ryu was still very tense, however he had calmed down to the point where he could talk again. "Jiji, they tried to hurt him, he is _my otouto_. I will _not_ let them _hurt_ him." Ryu growled out. "Tell me what happened Ryu, you left my office, and then what did you do?" The Hokage asked patently.

"We left your office, and then we headed to otouto's apartment to get his stuff." Ryu said baring his fangs. "Did you make it to Naruto's apartment?" The Hokage asked. "No jiji, they attacked us. They wanted to hurt him." Ryu said. "Ryu what happened to Naruto? Where is he?" The Hokage asked. "I was protecting him. I told him to run. They wanted to follow him but I wouldn't _let_ them." Ryu growled out trembling slightly in anger at the villagers. "Do you know where he is now Ryu?" The Hokage asked. "No jiji, but I can find him." Ryu replied.

The villagers were not happy with the way things were going, however they didn't want to anger the Hokage. Those who were willing to protest had the ANBU to worry about, every time they would try, they would find several kunai and swords aimed at their throats.

"Ryu, I want you to find Naruto and bring him here." The Hokage said to Ryu. "I want you and your team to go with him, Naruto is to be found and brought here immediately." The Hokage said to the ANBU that had been holding Ryu. Upon hearing this, Ryu and a team of ANBU left to find Naruto.

"Let's start by going to where you were fighting." The leader of the ANBU team said to Ryu. "We can try to pick up a trail from there." He said, Ryu just nodded his head in an affirmative and followed him, the rest of the ANBU behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

To lighthalk, TenWings -- Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate it!

To Kilroy777 – Good Idea, but I have a better plan for him.

To Kirallie – I am not sure how much of a part she will play yet, I haven't gotten that far.

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 10**

Once they got there, the ANBU immediately began looking for signs of where the young Uzumaki boy had gone. Ryu just stood there sniffing the air, trying to sort through the scents he was getting for his little brother's scent. After a couple of minutes, he crouched down and began sniffing near the ground. It took a few minutes, but he finally found his otouto's scent.

While the ANBU were having absolutely no luck finding signs of trail to follow, Ryu was having plenty. "I found otouto's scent, I can find him now." Ryu told the ANBU. "Are you absolutely sure?" The leader said. "Yes, I _know_ otouto's scent. I _will_ find him." Ryu said with absolute confidence. "Alright, lead the way then." The leader of the ANBU team said.

They followed Ryu through back alleys, rooftops, training grounds, and even parts of the forest. Some times they had to double back, other times they had to wait for Ryu to find the trail again, this was usually when they encountered a stream, or river, though there were a few times the trail went straight up, either to a roof or into the trees. Naruto's trail practically wound all over Konohagaakure no sato, twice over.

* * *

Finally, they had found exactly where Naruto had actually gone. They had ended up on the outskirts of the village, in a place surrounded by trees. Ryu knew immediately where they were, and gave a feral grin. "Home, otouto found it!" He said a bit happier now. "Home, Ryu? What do you mean by that, and _where_ exactly _are_ we?" One of the ANBU asked. They were all curious; none of them had ever been here before. They had thought it was just part of the forest, not someone's home. "Yes, _home_, _my home, _this is _my territory_. _My lair_ is here. Right now we are near the edge of _my territory._" Ryu said looking at the ANBU. "_Stay__here_,_ I_ will see if otouto found the lair. If he's there, I'll bring him here, if he's not I'll come back and let you know." Ryu ordered with a slight warning growl.

Ryu then left them and headed towards his lair, he didn't get very far however, before the ANBU ignored his warning, deciding to explore a bit. They had only gotten twenty feet further in before they were confronted by an angry Ryu. He came tearing at them growling and letting loose an angry, feral roar.

They were lucky they had excellent reflexes or else they would have been sliced to ribbons by Ryu's ki claws. As it was, they didn't get away unscathed, Ryu managed to give them all a few cuts and bruises as he chased them back even further than where he had left them. Ryu had chased them twenty feet from the edge of his territory. They had had to defend themselves the whole time as well, trying to calm him down.

Once they were far enough away from his territory, he stopped and growled feraly at them. Glaring at them, he growled out "I _told you_ to _stay_ _put_! I _told you_ this for a _reason_. This is _MY TERRITORY!_ See this line?" he then proceeded to draw a small line in the ground, "Do _NOT_ cross it!" He was so angry, his cat ears were out and flat against his head and his tail out and lashing back and forth showing his displeasure. The ANBU knew better than to push him on this matter, he was quite dangerous when he wanted to be. The only reason they were as well off as they were, was because he trusted them to an extent and they knew it.

Satisfied that they were not going to disobey him again, Ryu took off again, intent on checking his lair for his otouto. Since this was _his_ territory, he knew it very well and so he knew how to get to his lair quickly.

His_lair_ was a house built to blend into the forest. You could literally be right on top of it and not know it. It was built in and around a natural cave system and some huge trees. Some of the trees were actually hollowed out, though still alive, and used as part of the _lair_. The entrances and exits were basically invisible, unless you knew where to look, they were so well hidden.

Once he got there, he searched the place very thoroughly; however there was no sign of Naruto, not even a trace of his scent. "Damn, and here I thought he would be here, guess he's else where, though this is the safest place to be, just being in my territory, he is extremely safe." Ryu thought to himself.

Though he was angry at the ANBU, he wasn't one to break his word, so Ryu headed back to where he had left them to let them know that Naruto wasn't in his lair. He headed back towards them, knowing they had actually listened this time. Like any wild animal, he knew when someone or something uninvited entered _his_ territory, and they hadn't. It didn't take him long to get back to them.

He looked at them and growled to let them know he was still angry with them. Then he said "_My_ otouto is not in _my_ lair, I checked. "Do you know where he might be?" The head ANBU asked him. "No, all I know is that he is somewhere in _my territory_." Ryu replied. "Then we should split up, we will cover more ground that way and find him faster." The ANBU said. At this Ryu let out a feral growl.

"_No_,_I_ will look _otouto_. This is _my territory_ and you are not allowed to enter here." He growled out. When it looked like they were about to argue with him he let out another feral growl. When one of them tried to get closer to him, he roared at them. "_I_ will find him_, I know_ _my territory_, I know the _best_and _safest_ places to hide here, _I _will find _otouto_ and bring him back here. _Do. Not. Enter. My. Territory_!" He said growling at them, his tail lashing back and forth, and showing his fangs, letting them know he meant business.

Once he was sure they would stay, he left in search of his little brother. He looked in nearly every hiding place there was and found Naruto in a cave. This cave's entrance was very well concealed; no one else would have found it. Ryu could smell fear coming from his otouto, and so he did what he could to calm him down.

He began making calming noises between purring and talking to Naruto. "It's ok now chibi kit, I'm here now, everything will be ok." Ryu kept telling Naruto, until the boy looked at him and recognized him. "Aniki? Aniki, I'm scared." Naruto said. "No one else is here chibi kit; it's just you and I. It's ok, I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you didn't I?" Ryu said in a calming voice. "Yes aniki, you did." Naruto said.

While he was trying to calm his little brother down, he slowly crept forward, closer and closer to the frightened boy. When he had gotten close enough, he wrapped his arms around Naruto and held him close, in a comforting hug, occasionally rubbing the boy's back and nuzzling him gently. It took a while however for Naruto to finally calm down.

"Kit, how did you find this place?" Ryu asked Naruto in curiosity. "I did what you said to and ran aniki, I don't know where we are though, it just felt safe here." Naruto replied. "This place isn't some place forbidden is it? Are you mad at me?" he said. "No kit, I'm not mad at you, I'm proud of you. Though to most people this place _is _forbidden, it never will be to you." Ryu told Naruto. "What do you mean big brother?" Naruto asked. "This place is in my territory, _no one_ is allowed here without _my_ permission. I'm very proud of you for hiding here. You listened to your instincts, that's good." Ryu explained.

"Oh, ok. Um, aniki what do we do now?" Naruto asked. "We still haven't gotten my stuff and what about the villagers?" Naruto said worried, and not really wanting to go back into town. "First we'll go to the edge of my territory and meet up with the team of ANBU that I left there. Then we'll go to the Hokage's tower and see jiji. After that we'll go and get you at least one set of clothing and some pajamas from your apartment. Then we will go home and to bed chibi kit." Ryu replied. "Do we have to big brother? I really don't want to deal with the villagers right now. What if they attack us again?" Naruto said worriedly.

"The villagers will do _nothing_. The ones that attacked us are with jiji right now, and that's why we need to go there. Don't worry little brother, they _will not_ harm you, and _they will_ be _punished_ for what they have done." Ryu said. "Now come on, it's getting late." Ryu said picking his little brother up and carrying him out of the cave and towards the waiting ANBU. Naruto just wrapped his arms around his big brother's neck and buried his face in Ryu's shoulder. He really wasn't ready to face the world just yet.

When they made it to the edge of Ryu's territory, the ANBU saw Ryu carrying Naruto, who was clinging to him and had his face hidden against Ryu's shoulder. "I told you I would find my otouto." Ryu said in a calm voice, his ears and tail gone. "Come on, it's getting late and we have things we need to do." Ryu said to the ANBU, before taking off expecting them to follow him.

* * *

They did follow him, and saw that he headed straight for the Hokage's tower. It didn't take them long to catch up and when they did, they heard him saying to Naruto. "Don't worry otouto, jiji will make everything ok, and _I_ will keep you safe." As he nuzzled the boy gently, doing his best to keep his otouto from getting too scared.

It didn't take them very long to get to the Hokage tower, and the Sandamie's office. "We're back jiji. I told you I could find my little brother." Ryu said to the Hokage. Ryu then carried his otouto to the front of his jiji's desk and sat down on the desk, ignoring the protests of several villagers and ANBU alike.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 11**

"Otouto, you need to tell jiji what happened now." Ryu told Naruto, who's only response was to latch tighter to his aniki and burry his head further in an attempt to hide from the world. "Naruto, otouto, please talk to jiji, for me, ok?" Ryu said quietly to Naruto, nuzzling his hair gently. "I promise you aren't in trouble otouto." Ryu tried, only to meet silence. He then got an idea and got up and carried Naruto around the desk to the Hokage giving him a slightly pleading look while trying to get his otouto to let go of him and go to their jiji. "Go to jiji otouto, it's ok now, see." He said handing Naruto over to the Hokage. "Maybe you can get him to talk jiji." Ryu said quietly. He then turned to the villagers, who were protesting his actions, and let out an angry growl, saying "Leave _my_ otouto alone."

It took a few minutes but the Hokage finally got Naruto to tell him what had happened. The villagers protested however and claimed that Ryu had attacked them and Naruto had either not been there, or had helped. The Hokage was inclined to believe Ryu and Naruto however, especially when most of the ANBU were defending the boys as well.

The Hokage had the villagers taken to some holding cells until he could find out the severity of their crimes, he had the ANBU write out reports and had a team of them escort Ryu and Naruto home. He assured Ryu the villagers would get fitting punishments, and had a doctor summoned to look at those who were still injured. As for the ones in the hospital, they were to be taken to holding cells when they were well enough. The Hokage then dismissed everyone so they could all get some sleep.

* * *

Though the ANBU team had been ordered to escort Ryu and Naruto home, they found themselves following the boys over the rooftops towards Naruto's apartment. "Ryu san, I thought you adopted Naruto into your clan, are you not going to take him to your house?" One of them asked him. "We're going to get some of otouto's stuff first." Ryu said slightly annoyed.

No one had anything else to add and didn't want to anger Ryu, so they traveled in silence the rest of the way to Naruto's apartment. Once there, Ryu told them to stay outside. That was fine with them, so they stood guard outside while the two boys went in. It didn't take them long to get Naruto's stuff, though Ryu was sad to note his little brother barely had anything to call his own. He decided that he would try to remedy that soon.

When they came out of Naruto's apartment, Naruto looked almost dead on his feet, he was so tired. "Don't worry otouto; you can go to bed soon." Ryu told Naruto. "We'll be home soon." Naruto yawned and nodded his head ok. Ryu then looked at the ANBU and said "You can only come as far at the edge of my territory, we'll be fine on our own after that."

They then took off once again; it took only a few minutes to get to the edge of Ryu's territory, where they all stopped. "We'll be fine on our own now, good night." Ryu said picking up Naruto and taking off before they could respond. They were wise enough to follow his advice, and so went home themselves.

* * *

It didn't take long to carry his little brother to his lair. Once outside one of the entrances, he set Naruto down. "We're home now chibi kit." Ryu told Naruto happily. "Where is it aniki? All I see is trees." Naruto said confused and sleepy. "Follow me otouto." Ryu said with a smile. He then entered his lair. All Naruto saw was his big brother disappear through some brush and bushes.

"Aniki, where did you go?" He asked worriedly, almost panicking. Ryu stuck his head out and looked at his brother sighing. "I told you to follow me otouto, trust me." Ryu said disappearing again. This time Naruto followed his big brother and found himself inside a cave of sorts. "Aniki?" Naruto said confused.

"Welcome home chibi kit." Ryu said strolling through the cave, gesturing to Naruto to follow him. "I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow, your room is here, and mine there." Ryu said pointing out the two rooms and dropping off Naruto's stuff in the right room. "You have your own bathroom attached to your room, I'll come get you in the morning, try to get some sleep." Ryu said heading to his own room with a yawn. "Good night otouto." He said before entering his own room. "Good night Aniki." He heard Naruto say before he entered his room. They both fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their respective pillows.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

Ceridwen Kalamack – Thanks for that info. I was taking a shot in the dark there. I have used your suggestion and fixed the previous chapters.

**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 12**

When morning came, Ryu was up bright and early despite how late he had been up the night before; some habits are hard to break. The first thing he did was to check in on his little brother, seeing him still asleep, Ryu inspected the whole lair, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be and noting he would need to do some light cleaning later in the day. He also noted the scents of some of his friends and smiled.

After that, he headed outside and did a quick patrol of his territory. Satisfied he went back home and got cleaned up and ready for the day. Then, he made some breakfast for himself and his otouto. Once breakfast was made, he decided it was time to wake Naruto up, knowing he would have classes that day and did not want him to be any later than possible, seeing as he would probably be a bit late as it was. 'I should have woken him up earlier, but he looked like he needed some sleep.' Ryu thought to himself.

"Time to get up chibi kit. Unless you want your food to get cold!" Ryu called as he walked into Naruto's room, pulling the covers off of the younger boy. "Up, come on chibi kit!" He said. Naruto opened his eyes and yawned. "Do I have to aniki?" he asked. "Yep, you have classes today and you're already going to be a bit late. Get cleaned up and dressed, I have breakfast ready. Once you eat, I'll see you off to class." Ryu said leaving Naruto's room and heading into his room to get a few things.

It only took Naruto a few minuets to get ready, and when he left his room, his brother was not there. Seeing as he had no idea where he needed to go, he went to the room Ryu had claimed to be his last night, hoping his aniki was in there. He was happy his guess had worked when he saw Ryu in there. "Um, aniki, I'm ready now." Naruto told him. "Great! Let's go eat breakfast then." Ryu said leaving his room. "Follow me chibi kit, we'll eat in the kitchen." Ryu said easily navigating through the lair, Naruto following closely behind, not sure he would ever be able to find his way around by himself. 'Aniki's place is confusing.' Naruto thought.

He didn't have time to get a good look around though, not even in the kitchen, Ryu had him eat quickly, reminding him he was already late for class. Once they were done eating, Naruto followed his aniki through the place and then outside, though he didn't recognize the place. "Aniki, is this where we came in last night? It looks different." He said confused. "Of course it would look different otouto. The lighting would be different. But to answer your question, no this isn't the same place. This is a different entrance to the lair." Ryu answered.

"Follow me little brother, and I'll lead you straight to the academy and explain to your teacher why you're late. I'll also be there when your classes are over so I can lead you back to the lair." Ryu said. "Lair aniki? I thought that was your house." Naruto said confused. "The lair _is_ our home Naruto, it's like a house, but it's our lair. I'll explain it better when I give you the grand tour later." Ryu said. "Oh, ok aniki." Naruto said.

Naruto had to follow Ryu through the forest until they made it to the edge of the village. Then he had to follow his big brother across the rooftops. They got stopped once by some ANBU, but Ryu explained that Naruto was late for school and so the ANBU let them go. After that no one else stopped them. Upon reaching the academy, Ryu followed Naruto to his class room. "Naruto, you're late, again." Iruka sensei said upon seeing the boy entering the room. "I am sorry Iruka sensei, it won't happen again." Naruto said with his trademark smile.

"He is right, it _won't_ happen again." Ryu said with a slight frown at his brother, upon hearing what the teacher had said. "Are you his teacher then?" Ryu said turning to Iruka. "Yes, and you are?" Iruka replied. "My name is Ryu Mouko. May I speak to you a moment please?" Ryu said. "Of course, Class listen to Mizuki sensei, I'll be right back." Iruka said walking out of the classroom and closing the door.

"What can I do for you Mouko san?" Iruka asked. "Call me Ryu please Iruka san." Ryu said. "I wanted to let you know that it wasn't Naruto's fault he was late today, it was mine." Ryu told him. "Naruto is quite capable of getting here on his own; I don't see how it could have been your fault Ryu san." Iruka replied a bit curiously. "That's simple, he didn't know his way here from home, and therefore I had to bring him. That, and I let him sleep in a little bit, he had a long night." Ryu explained.

"Do you mean Naruto moved then?" Iruka asked. "Yes, I'm sorry; I seem to have confused you a bit. I adopted Naruto into my clan last night; I'm now his big brother, and his legal guardian. I then moved him into my home last night. We live on the outskirts of the village and it was dark out by the time we got there, so there was no way for him to get his bearings. I'll be here to pick him up when classes are over later today.

If you need to get a hold of me, try asking Hokage sama." Ryu explained. "I see, so he has a new last name then?" Iruka asked. "Yes he is now Naruto Mouko. Can you do me a favor?" "I see, what type of favor Ryu san?" Iruka said. "I forgot to pack him a lunch, could you give him this?" Ryu said handing some money to Iruka. "Sure, I need to get back to my class, however I would like to talk to you later if that's ok." Iruka said. "Of course, until then." Ryu said and then left.

Iruka went back inside the classroom, to see Mizuki trying to get the class in order and hearing Naruto loudly proclaim he now had a brother. Before things could escalate, he called everyone to order and started class.

Ryu went to check in with the Hokage, then the girl he had brought in. He then went to town to get a few things. Once his shopping was completed, he went home and put his things away, he then began cleaning. By the time the lair was clean and he was presentable again, it was time to go get Naruto from the academy.

When everyone was let out of class they saw the stranger that had brought Naruto in that morning, standing outside. When Naruto went racing by, hoping to get past his aniki, well, more like forgetting he was to be picked up, and with ramen on his mind, he was abruptly stopped by the stranger. All Naruto knew was that he had been practically running and the next thing he knew was that he was hanging mid air. All the students saw was Naruto practically running one minute, and the next the stranger had him by the collar of his shirt, holding him up in the air.

"And where do you think you're going?" Ryu asked in a stern voice, not happy his little brother had been about to take off when he knew his big brother would be coming for him. "Um, to get some ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully.

All Ryu did was raise an eyebrow at him and say "And _who_ exactly told you, you could do so?" Ryu asked sternly. "I always go get ramen after class." Naruto said upset he was being kept from his beloved ramen.

"Naruto, you _knew_ I was coming to get you to take you home and all you can think about is _ramen_?" Ryu asked. "But it's _Ichiraku's_!" Naruto protested. "No. Now come on, I need to speak with your teacher." Ryu said. "But, I wanted some ramen. I know, you talk to Iruka sensei and then you can meet me at Ichiraku's!" Naruto said trying in vain to get away.

"No, and now you will get _no ramen_ for a _week_,_understand_?" Ryu said in a stern voice, and when it looked like Naruto was going to protest he said "Any complaints and it will be _two weeks_." Naruto hung his head and said a bit meekly "Yes aniki." "Good, now are you going to behave if I put you down?" Ryu said. "Yes" Naruto replied seeing a chance to escape. "Good." Ryu said and put him down.

As soon as his feet hit the ground Naruto tried to make a break for it, unfortunately for him, Ryu saw this coming and grabbed him again before he got very far. "Naruto…" he growled out obviously angry. "Yes aniki?" Naruto started. Before he could try to get out of his predicament however, he saw a slightly evil smirk on his aniki's face. "You will now _go two weeks straight_ without ramen." To anyone else this would not be a punishment, for Naruto however, it was torture. He was afraid to push his brother further though and so he said "Yes aniki" sadly, while his class mates snickered, knowing of his love for ramen.

Ryu then proceded to carry an unhappy Naruto into the academy, by the collar of his shirt. Once inside he went straight to the class room he had followed Naruto to earlier and walked in. "Hello Iruka san." Ryu said putting Naruto's feet on the ground and bowing slightly while still holding onto Naruto's collar to prevent the boy from escaping. "Hello Ryu san, I see you brought Naruto back with you." Iruka stated. Naruto just stood there unhappily.

"Yes, and he is going to stand still and behave while we talk, right Naruto?" Ryu said giving a slight, silent growl to the boy. "Yes aniki." Naruto replied, his big brother was mad at him and he did_not_ want to loose out on any more ramen than he already was. "You wished to talk to me Iruka san?" Ryu said in curiosity.

'Wow, Naruto is behaving? That's defiantly new.' Iruka thought. "Yes, since you're Naruto's guardian now, I thought you'd like to know how he's doing grade wise." Iruka said. On his lunch he had contacted the Hokage and had Ryu's story confirmed. "Yes, that would be nice; I'd also like to know how often he's late to class." Ryu said.

"Academically he is the dead last in his class; he's late to class too often and has tried to skip class as well on several occasions. I know he can improve, but he doesn't seem to care." Iruka said a bit sadly. "I see, I'll see what I can do to get him motivated." Ryu said. "Thank you, may I ask how you managed to get him to behave?" Iruka asked Ryu in curiosity.

At this Ryu gave a small smirk and said "He's being punished. He tried to take off after class, knowing I was coming for him, just so he could eat some ramen. He's now forbidden from eating the stuff for two weeks straight." "I see, for him that's a good punishment." Iruka said with a slight chuckle. "If he misbehaves in class again, let me know, and I'd appreciate updates on his performance in class." Ryu told Iruka. "Of course Ryu san." Iruka replied.

They then said their good byes and Ryu and Naruto left the academy. "Come on Naruto, we need to do some shopping, get the rest of your stuff, and then we're going home." Ryu stated, heading towards town. All Naruto could do was follow his big brother. Naruto knew the villagers did _not_ like him, but his aniki seemed clueless, or so he thought up until he heard his brother growl at a villager who had said something mean about him. "Leave my otouto alone." Ryu had said in a menacing voice. The villager gulped and walked away. This made Naruto feel better.

All they really had to do was get Naruto some clothing, a few empty scrolls and some books. The first stop was the book store for the scrolls and books, which was easy enough. Then they headed to get Naruto clothing, which turned into a bit of a problem.

When they got to the store, the owner refused to serve them, at least until Ryu suggested they go see the Hokage. Then when Naruto found out they were there to get _him_ some clothing, he began to protest. Ryu had to growl at him and threaten to keep him from eating ramen for another two weeks. That got Naruto to stop complaining and do as his aniki said. While they were there, Ryu got a few things for himself as well. After that they headed back home.

* * *

When they got to the forest at the edge of the village, they stopped. "Alright otouto, it's time for your lessons to start." Ryu said. "Lessons aniki? What do you mean, classes are over for today." Naruto said confused. Ryu just grinned and said, "Unless you know _where_ to look and _how_ to look, you will _never_ find the lair. You could literally be on top of it and not know. This is good for us, as no one, but those allowed in the lair, will be able to find it. Since it's your home now, you'll have to learn how to find your way there.

Now, the lair is our home, and like any respectable lair, it has more than one entrance, all hidden. For now, I'll teach you how to find the main entrance, once you can do so without difficulty, I'll teach you how to find the others, one at a time. I'll also teach you where my territory begins and ends, as you will be safest within my territory." Ryu explained. Naruto was very confused. Ryu saw this however and began to explain a bit more.

"Naruto animals, especially wild ones have _lairs_ not _houses_. Their _lair_ is their home, understand?" Naruto nodded, so he continued. "They also have territories, still with me?" again Naruto nodded. "Good, do you remember what I looked like last night when I found you in that cave?" Ryu prodded. "Yes, you had cat ears and a cat tail, I thought that was a Henge no Jutsu." Naruto said.

"That was no jutsu chibi kit, those were real. I'm what's known as a neko warrior. That means I'm part cat. I even think a bit like one, and I'm no house cat otouto, I'm a wild cat, a Tiger." Ryu explained. "Now pay attention to your surroundings, and follow me." Ryu said walking into the forest. "Ok, aniki." Naruto said following him and doing as he was told.

Naruto tried really hard to memorize where they were going, but it was very hard. To him all of the trees looked the same. After a while, they stopped. "Um, aniki? I think I'm lost." Naruto said with a sheepish grin. "That's ok, otouto. I didn't expect you to get it right the first time." Ryu replied.

"This is the very edge of my territory. See that tree there, and that one there?" Ryu said pointing to a strange tree to the right and another one to the left. "Yes big brother." Naruto said. "Good, I want you to memorize them, they are good landmarks." Ryu told him.

"Now hand me your things and I will teach you how to find my territory." Ryu said taking some things from Naruto. "You already found my territory the easiest way last night when you found that cave." Ryu told Naruto "You did that by instinct. You didn't think, you followed your instincts and trusted them to take you somewhere safe. The fact that you found _my_ territory by instinct is very good. It means if you are ever in trouble, you will be able to find your way here and to safety.

However, you will need to be able to find your way here every day, which means I'll have to teach you to actively search it out." Ryu lectured. "Why can't I just follow you aniki?" Naruto asked. "Because, chibi kit, there will be days I will not be here to help you, and every member of my Pride _must_ be able to find the lair, and to find the lair, you _must_ be able to find _my territory_." Ryu explained.

"Pride aniki? I don't understand." Naruto said. "The _Pride_ is_family_ otouto. Not by blood, but by choice, _my_ choice._Jiji_, and _You_, chibi kit, are part of the _Pride_. There are a few others as well, but you'll meet them later. I have a saying that the others have adopted that describes us rather well. It is "Blood is strong, but _family_ is stronger."

It means that though we may have family related to us by blood, and that is a strong bond, _we_ are _family_. We _chose_ each other, _our_ bond is _stronger_. When you are in trouble or are threatened, your family by blood may choose to ignore that. However, when one of us is in trouble, the others react. If one of us is threatened, the whole _Pride_ is threatened and takes offence. That's one of the reasons I acted so violently when you were threatened last night." Ryu explained. "I'll explain further and answer your questions about the Pride later though.

Right now, you need to learn how to identify my territory." He told Naruto. "How aniki?" Naruto asked. "By scent, chibi kit, now I want you to sit down, close your eyes and clear your mind. Once you've done that, I want you to tell me what you smell." Ryu instructed. "I smell trees, the grass and the dirt aniki." Naruto said. "Very good otouto, what else?" Ryu asked. "Nothing aniki." Naruto said a bit frustrated.

"Try memorizing the scents you know, then filing them away until you find a new one." Ryu suggested. "Ok, aniki. I'll try." Naruto said closing his eyes again. "I smell trees…, grass…, dirt…, I smell…you?" Naruto said confused. "Wait how did I know it was you?" Naruto asked in confusion. "That's because of instinct otouto. You got my scent one of the times I hugged you or held you, and you instinctively filed it away as my scent." Ryu explained. "Oh, ok." Naruto said accepting his brother's explanation.

"Close your eyes again and find my scent otouto. I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you smell it." Ryu said. "Ok aniki. Let's see…I…feel safe." Naruto said. "Good, I already knew that, but I still needed you to say it. Now that you know my scent and know it makes you feel safe, I want you to use that to find my territory." Ryu told Naruto. It took a couple of minutes, but Naruto finally thought he had it. "Ok aniki, I have it now." He told Ryu. "Good, what does it smell like?" Ryu questioned. "Um, sort of like you, but different. It smells safe too." Naruto said to his aniki.

"Very good chibi kit. Now, I want you to memorize that scent. When you are sure you have it, let me know." Ryu told Naruto. "Ok big brother." Naruto said, doing as he was instructed. A couple of minutes later, he said "Ok aniki, I have it memorized now." "Very good otouto, I will test how well you have it memorized tomorrow. Now however, it is time to go home, so follow me.

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It didn't take them long to get back to the lair, and when they did, another lesson began for Naruto. "Ok otouto, now use what I taught you so far and see if you can find the entrance to the lair." Ryu said. "Um, ok aniki, I'll try." Naruto replied, however he couldn't find it, and got very frustrated. "It's ok otouto, I didn't expect you to get it the first time, calm down. You'll get it in time." Ryu said chuckling a bit. "Come on, follow me, it'll be dinner time soon and we still need to put your stuff in your room. I also need to show you where everything is." Ryu said leading the way into the lair.

Once inside, they headed to Naruto's room and dropped his stuff off there. They then went to Ryu's room to drop off his stuff. While they were doing this Ryu decided to lay down a few ground rules. "Otouto, there are a few rules you will have to follow.

The first is that if you make a mess, you will be expected to clean it up.

The second is that your room is _yours_. Just as any Pride member's room is _theirs_. You are responsible for it and no one will go in there without permission, except me, and I will usually knock first. This means if it's a mess that's fine, as long as it doesn't get too bad. That goes for every one else's room as well. If you need me however, you are allowed in my room.

The third is that _no one_, friends or not, are permitted inside the lair let alone my territory, without permission. So if you want to invite someone over, ask me first.

The fourth is, you _will_ have chores to do, and they may change from day to day.

The fifth is, you are to get cleaned up before every meal.

And the last important rule is that you will be getting lessons from myself or another Pride member every morning and every evening starting tomorrow." Ryu said listing the rules.

"Ok aniki." Naruto said. "Good now how about I show you where everything is, or would you rather just explore while I get dinner started?" Ryu asked his otouto. "Um, I think I'll explore a bit." Naruto said. "Ok otouto, once dinner's ready I'll come get you, so don't worry about getting lost." Ryu said leaving Naruto to his own devices and heading to the kitchen to get dinner ready.

After Ryu left, Naruto closed the door to his room and began exploring his new home. He decided to start by trying to find the way they had come in. That didn't work out so well, he got lost instead. However, he did get to see at least most of the lair.

He found seven more bedrooms, complete with their own bathrooms like his and his aniki's. He also found two separate bathrooms, the living room, an office, a dojo, and a den. He found some closets, some locked doors, and a few different ways outside as well. Did I mention all of the dead ends he found?

He had found the dining room and kitchen early on and had given his aniki a quick hello before resuming his exploration. 'This place is huge! I wonder why aniki needs so many rooms…and what's with all of the dead ends?! I guess I'll have to ask aniki later.' Naruto thought to himself.

While he was exploring his new home, he realized the place seemed to be made of rock and wood, but built strangely, where the wood and stone met, it was seamless. He also noticed that the floors seemed to be covered by what looked like grass and leaves in some places and fur rugs in others. Sometimes this carried into a room or more, other rooms had regular rugs, except the dojo, which had a wood floor. Currently, he was very hungry and very lost, which made him very frustrated. "Dang it! Why does this place have to be so confusing?!" Naruto yelled in frustration.

Ryu had finished dinner and noticed Naruto wasn't there. "It looks like otouto is lost; I guess I'll have to go find him then." He thought chuckling as he left the kitchen. It didn't take him long to find Naruto at one of the dead ends, yelling about being lost. "That's so any intruders will get lost, and keep us safe otouto. I'll explain better after dinner. The kitchen is this way." Ryu said chuckling and walking off. Naruto took off after him, not wanting to be lost anymore.

On the way to the kitchen, Ryu decided to quiz Naruto about the lair to see where all he had ended up. "Ok little brother, you may not know your way around here yet, but I would like to know where you ended up while you were exploring." Ryu said.

"Um, besides the kitchen and dining room, I found seven more bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a living room, two separate bathrooms, an office, a dojo, and a den. I also found a few different ways outside and none of them were the one we used to come in. Did I mention all the dead ends?! This place is so confusing aniki. Why is it built like that, and _how_ is it built? It's different than any place I've ever seen." Naruto replied.

I'll explain how and why the lair is built after dinner; however I'm very proud of you. You managed to find most of the lair. Just remember, any room that belongs to someone is off limits unless you have permission from them." Ryu told his otouto, who just grinned at the praise.

After dinner, Ryu lead Naruto to the living room and sprawled out on the couch. "Make yourself comfortable otouto, and I'll explain why the lair is the way it is." He said. Naruto did just that and laid down on his stomach on the loveseat, facing his big brother.

"First, you must remember that the lair is just that a _lair_, not a house, no matter how much it may resemble one. Think of it like an animal's lair, because that is essentially what it is. Like an animal's lair, there are twists and turns, dead ends and many entrances and exits. This is for the safety of the Pride. Should an intruder get in here, we have many ways to escape quickly and safely. It's built to confuse them, and if there's more than one of them, split them up. This way we can take care of them one at a time.

As for how it's built, it's actually a cave system I found when I was younger. I just expanded it and went from the caves, which is the rock you saw, and carved directly into some of the huge trees in the forest.

I hollowed out whole trees in some places and only parts of trees in other places, this would be the wood you saw. We even use the massive root systems of the trees as our pipes, for water and such.

For that we got the help of the Aburame clan and their bugs. They had their bugs hollow out the roots and line them with a special substance so they could be used effectively, and before you ask the trees are very much alive, and will stay that way.

Now, did you notice the floors while you were exploring and how they look like they are covered in grass and leaves in some places?" Ryu said, at a nod from his little brother, he continued. "Good, the floors that look like that are covered by a special type of plant that can only be found here in the lair.

It's actually a hybrid of different plants that was created just for this purpose by my niisan. There are also other rare plants, mostly hybrids that can only be found in and around the lair. My niisan loved plants, and here he could breed them without interruption. I believe his scrolls may still be in the lair here somewhere." Ryu said

"Wow aniki, so our home is actually alive?" Naruto asked. "In a sense, yes otouto." Ryu replied with a laugh in his answer and pride in his eyes, for his little brother figuring that out. "Oh, cool!" Naruto said in excitement, earning a chuckle from his big brother. "There are a few other things about the lair I want to explain to you otouto, so listen up." Ryu said gaining Naruto's attention.

"Since you noticed the floors covered in plants, I'm sure you noticed the floors in some of the other rooms. Those are real fur rugs, as for the piles of fur in some places; those are to be used like the couches. I'm also sure you noticed the lack of doors in some places. That's because those places are there for the whole Pride. There are doors for the bedrooms for privacy and a few other places because only certain Pride members are allowed in those places." Ryu explained.

Now it's time for bed, remember, you _will_ be up early in the morning, wither you want to or not chibi kit, so go get some sleep." Ryu said. "Um, aniki? I don't know how to get to my room." Naruto reminded Ryu. "You will need to memorize the lair otouto; however, I'll show you back to your room tonight." Ryu told Naruto, leading him back to his room. He then went to the library and got a book to read and took it back to the living room, curling up on the couch for a while.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

The characters are going to be OOC. I have a reason for this.

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The Lone Reviewer – You just pointed out my weakness. This is my first fanfic and I have been having a hard time fleshing out the background, as well as parts of the story. I have it in my head, but…. It's hard to get onto paper. (or in this case, the computer) Thanks for the constructive criticism.

Asgeras – I'm not as young as you think, I am 25. As for the problems with my story… I know I need some pre readers, however my friends don't know as much about Ranma as I do, so they could only help with part of my story. I am very glad you are still enjoying it though. Maybe I will get better, with more experience, and a little help. You and "The Lone Reviewer" are only trying to help me, and I appreciate that.

Cloud1239999 – Thanks, though I wish I could describe it better.

Oberon – If you don't like my story, don't read it. I admit I am having a hard time writing his speech pattern and explaining a few things, but I _am_ trying. This _is_ my first fic, so give me some credit for at least trying.

I already have at least most of this typed, since I did it for National Novel Writing Month, but I am still editing it. I will post it as I get more edited. Also, to explain more of the background, like how Ranma got control of the neko-ken, I think I will post that separately after I figure out how to do so better than I have this one.

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**Painful Pasts and New Beginnings**

By: Shlandria

**Chapter 13**

In the morning, Ryu got up early, as was his routine. However, instead of getting ready, getting his workout in and checking the territory (not necessarily in that order), he made a few changes.

First he got cleaned up, dressed and ready for the day. Then he went to Naruto's room to wake him up, since the door was closed, he decided to be polite and knock first. When Naruto didn't answer, he opened the door, walked over to the bed and threw the covers off of Naruto saying "If you don't get up now otouto, you may regret it. This is your only warning."

When he still got no response he said "Alright otouto, you're asking for it, time to wake up." And with that he picked Naruto up, carried him into the bathroom, placed him in the shower and turned on the _cold_ water. That defiantly got Naruto up quick. "Ah! That's _COLD_!" he screamed. "I warned you otouto, when you don't get up; this is what you'll get." Ryu said with laughter in his voice.

"Now, I want you to get up and dressed. I suggest you wear something old that you can train in. Then I want you to wander around the lair again and get a feel for it, you don't need to worry about getting lost, just stay inside and I'll find you. I'm going to do a quick check of the territory and will be back in a few minutes, and don't think I won't know if you disobey me otouto." Ryu said in a voice that brooked no argument, leaving Naruto to his own devices for a few minutes.

After Ryu had checked his territory, he went back to the lair to find Naruto and see what his otouto knew, so he could come up with a training schedule for him. When he got inside, he found his otouto in another dead end, and was not surprised. "Lost again chibi kit?" He said chuckling. "It's not funny aniki!" Naruto replied upset. "Come on chibi kit, follow me outside, I want to test your skills and possibly train you some." Ryu said walking away, knowing his little brother would follow.

Once outside, Ryu lead his little brother to a nearby clearing. On their way there he quizzed the boy on the history of Konohagakure no Sato, as well as the aspects of the life of a ninja, and the surrounding villages and countries. Once at the clearing, Ryu had his little brother do some warm ups.

Seeing that Naruto couldn't even warm up properly, he wondered just what the boy _did_ know. He got Naruto's attention and then showed him how to properly warm up. Then he had his little brother spar with him to test Naruto's taijutsu skills. He then produced some practice weapons and tested Naruto's knowledge on them as well as his accuracy. After that, he tested Naruto on his ninjutsu, having him perform every jutsu he knew.

To say he wasn't happy would be an understatement. Sadly he had _a lot_ to teach his otouto. Once he was done testing Naruto, Ryu ran him through some exercises and then took him back to the lair. 'I'll need to talk to otouto's teacher Iruka and see what all has been taught so far at the academy. That way I know how the chibi kit stands. I have a feeling though, that he should know more than this.' Ryu thought to himself.

Once they were back inside the lair, Ryu led Naruto back to his room. "I want you to get cleaned up and dressed otouto. Breakfast should be ready by the time you're done. Right after breakfast we need to leave or you'll be late for class. I'll drop you off again and pick you back up once classes are over." Ryu said as he gave Naruto directions to the kitchen, and left.

Once Naruto was done getting ready, he tried to follow his big brother's directions, he really did. But somehow, he still got lost. "Dang it! Where am I?" he said frustrated. Luckily for him, he wasn't that far from the kitchen and Ryu had heard him and had come to help him out. "Lost otouto? Did you follow my directions?" Ryu said in amusement. "Yes and yes, well, I thought I did, but I ended up here instead of the kitchen." Naruto replied. "It looks like you only took a wrong turn otouto, you're very near the kitchen, come on, breakfast is ready." Ryu said leading Naruto into the kitchen.

After breakfast, Ryu lead Naruto to the main entrance of the lair and they left from there. Ryu lead Naruto through the forest quizzing him on what he had been told the night before.

"Ok chibi kit; let's see what you remember from last night. How many bedrooms did you find including ours?" He started. "Um, there are nine bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms right?" Naruto replied. "Correct. How many bathrooms?" Ryu continued. "Um, nine rooms with bathrooms, that's nine, but I found two more, so that makes eleven!" Naruto said happily. "Very good otouto. Now, what other rooms did you find?" Ryu continued. "I found a living room, an office, a dojo and a den. I also found locked doors and lots of dead ends and a few different ways outside." Naruto said grinning at his aniki.

"Very good chibi kit! What about the floors?" Ryu questioned his little brother. "The floors that look like they are covered in grass and leaves and are actually covered by a special plant made just for that purpose. It's a hybrid of other plants, and there are real fur rugs on some of the other floors." Naruto replied.

"Right, what else do you remember me telling you?" Ryu said. "Um, the doors that are locked, are locked because only certain Pride members are allowed in those rooms, and the bedrooms are off limits if they are taken, unless I have permission. There are also piles of fur in some of the rooms that can be used as furniture. There are also other hybrid plants that can only be found in and around the lair, because of your niisan. And all of those entrances and exits, twists and turns and dead ends are for our safety." Naruto answered grinning, because he knew he got his answer right.

"Very good otouto, I'm very proud of you. Now remember, I don't want you telling anyone about the lair unless you have my permission. I'm going to pick you up from the academy later, so stay there; also, here's a lunch for you." Ryu said handing Naruto a packed lunch as they enter the village. It only took a few minutes more to get to the academy, where Ryu left Naruto who was actually _early_ for once.

After he left his little brother at the academy, Ryu went to the Hokage tower to see his jiji. Upon entering the building he ran into an old friend who happened to be waiting to see the Hokage. He barely recognized her, and it was only because of her scent that he knew who she was. "Kaori!" He said happily, grinning from ear to ear as he walked up to her. "Ranma aniki?" she asked not sure if the boy walking up to her was who she thought it was. It had been a long time, since she had seen him after all. Though, he was the only one she knew that would great her like that.

"Who else, imoutosan? I haven't seen you for a long time, though I'm glad I ran into you. But you need to call my Ryu now." Ryu said happily "Ryu huh? I guess that means you changed your name, so is it still Satome or did your last name change too aniki?" Kaori asked. "Yep! I changed that too, my name is now Ryu Mouko." Ryu replied happily. "Ok then, we need to get together and catch up, by the way, what are you doing here anyway Ryu?" She asked him. "I came to see jiji, I take it, that's why you're standing here waiting?" He replied. "Of course." She replied. "Cool, wait here and I'll see if I can free jiji from the meeting he's in; it has _got_ to be _boring_ anyway." Ryu said with a grin causing Kaori to giggle right before he went into the office.

Ignoring the protests from the council and various other important people in the office, and deftly dodging the guards who were _trying_ to do their jobs and stop him, in vain of course, Ryu walked right up to the Hokage's desk and grinned, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

"Hi jiji!" He said while dodging the guards. "Hello Ryu, how are you today?" The Hokage replied trying not to laugh at the boy's antics before turning to address the guards. "It's alright, Ryu here is harmless." The Hokage said hoping to avoid too much embarrassment for the guards, knowing Ryu could not be caught so easily.

Most of the council and a few others already knew that the meeting was over the moment Ryu entered the office. Though there were complaints coming from those who didn't. Though they soon realized that no amount of complaining or arguing would change things or get the boy to leave, and it looked like the Hokage wasn't inclined to kick the boy out.

"I'm teaching otouto about his seisokuchi (habitat; home), but he's having a hard time jiji, do you have any ideas? Oh, and imoutosan is outside of your office, can I bring her in now?" Ryu said ignoring everyone else, figuring they would get the hint and leave soon enough, besides, he had come to get his jiji's help anyway.

"I'm sorry everyone, but it looks like this meeting is going to be cut short." The Hokage told the council members and other important people attending the meeting. "Yes, you can bring her in Ryu." He told the boy, watching as everyone left his office except Ryu.

Once Ryu saw everyone leave the office, he stuck his head out the door to get his imoutosan, only to see her talking to someone else. "I'll be right back in with imoutosan jiji." He said walking out the door and straight to where Kaori was, and promptly gave her a hug, trying to embarrass her.

"Kaori, who is this young man?" The stranger asked in a stern voice. It was obvious to Ryu he was a Hyuuga, and a main branch member at that. Simply by the way he spoke and acted. Ryu just gave him an amused look and nuzzled his imouto's cheek.

Kaori wasn't sure just how to react at the moment since her uncle, who was the _head_ of the clan was looking more and more upset at her aniki's actions, and her aniki who was ignoring her uncle and greeting her like he always had in the past. It didn't help that Ryu seemed to find her uncle's reaction amusing either.

Hiashi Hyuuga was _not_ pleased. He had been in an important meeting with the Hokage when it had been rudly interrupted. Not only had some strange boy interrupted the meeting, he had just _waltzed_ into the Hokage's office like he owned the place, somehow dodged the_ANBU_ guards and then had the _audacity_ to call _the Hokage jiji_! It didn't help matters any that the Hokage himself let the boy get away with it and cut the meeting short for the boy.

Since he couldn't and wouldn't go against the Hokage, he had had to leave; at least he had managed to do so with more dignity than most of the others. Though he didn't know how the boy had dodged the ANBU, he did _not _see anything special about the boy. He had decided to get his niece and go back to the Hyuuga compound. He knew she had wished to speak to the Hokage, but that could wait.

He had just finished telling her this when the boy who had interrupted the meeting had walked up to her and _hugged_ her. Not only that, but she had _let_ him do so. No, he was defiantly _not_ happy at the moment, however perhaps he could at the very least find out who the boy was. With that in mind he decided to question his niece. "Kaori, who is this young man?" He stated sternly, letting her know of his displeasure.

Before Kaori could get her bearings, Ryu decided to answer for her. The man might be a Hyuuga, and a main branch member, heck; he could be the head of the house and probably was. However that did _not_ give him the right to speak to _his imouto_ like that. He looked at the man and gave a low growl, just audible enough for the man to know that it came from him. He then walked towards the Hyuuga and looked him right in the eye, knowing his slit pupils would unnerve the man.

"I suggest you watch how you speak to _my imoutosan_ from now on." He growled out, giving the man a slightly feral look. "As for who I am, I am Mouko Ryu. Who are _you_?" He said to the man.

Hiashi Hyuuga wasn't the head of his house for no reason, though he had noticed the boys silted pupils and the way he had spoken, the head of the Hyuuga clan would _not_ be intimidated so easily. "I am Hyuuga Hiashi, the _head_ of the Hyuuga clan and Kaori's_uncle_, and I will speak to her how _I_ see fit." He said to the boy being as intimidating as he could, he would _not_ back down to this _boy_.

Ryu gave a low angry growl at this and those nearby that knew him, backed off and watched. They knew that Ryu would not back down for anyone except _maybe_ the Hokage. They also knew Hyuuga Hiashi would not back down either, which meant that things could get very interesting.

Ryu for his part just growled at the Hyuuga and bared his fangs giving him a slightly feral look. "Do _not_ push your luck _Hyuuga_, now _my imoutosan_ and I have a meeting with Hokage _jiji_ Sama." He said then gave the man a slight smirk showing Hiashi the boy believed he had won that round. He then grabbed Kaori and gently pushed her into the office following her, completely ignoring the head Hyuuga.

Hiashi was livid, how _dare_ that boy treat him like that! However, he wasn't about to embarrass himself and barge into the Hokage's office, no he would get answers from Kaori when she got home. He walked away with as much dignity he could muster, and everyone went back to what they had been doing before. Those who were hoping for a fight were a bit disappointed, but knew it would happen sooner or later, hopefully they could watch when it did. On his way home, the head Hyuuga ordered one of the branch members to wait on Kaori and to take her straight to him when she was done with the Hokage. The branch member, seeing he was upset, wasn't stupid enough to disobey.

Once in the office, Ryu closed the doors and grinned. "I thought you might be bored jiji, so I decided you needed to be rescued. I rescued Kaori imoutosan from her uptight uncle too." He said pleased, looking like the cat that ate the canary. "You know, I should probably go explain to uncle Hiashi." Kaori said. "Na, don't worry about it imouto he's probably gone now anyway." Ryu replied

"So is there any other reason you wanted to see me Ryu, besides 'rescuing me from boredom' that is?" The Hokage replied chuckling. "Yep, I wanted to get some advice from you jiji. Maybe Kaori imoutosan can help too." He replied. "Ah yes, you said you are having trouble teaching your otouto about his seisokuchi." The Hokage said, remembering what Ryu had said when he had interrupted the meeting.

"Your otouto, I didn't know you had an otouto, or did you adopt him?" Kaori asked needing more information. "I adopted him, and you can meet him later. Any ideas? He keeps getting lost in the lair, even with directions. I gave him _detailed_ directions this morning and he _still _got lost. I know I shouldn't expect him to learn everything right away, but he _needs_ to know as soon as possible. That's the _only_ way to guarantee his safety." Ryu said worriedly. "I'm not sure Ryu aniki, I would have to meet him first. Why are you so worried though, it's not like anyone goes near the lair." Kaori said.

"It is because of _who_ he is imoutosan. The villagers don't like him and I'm afraid they'll hurt him or worse. I've been with him constantly when we're in the village except when he's at the academy, but I won't always be able to watch him so closely. I need him to be able to find my territory, and the lair. I also need him to be able to know his way around the lair so if someone happens to follow him, he'll still be safe." Ryu replied, worry evident in his eyes.

"Who is he, that the villagers wouldn't like him and would want to hurt him?" Kaori asked, already fearing that she knew the answer. "His name is Naruto." Ryu said, knowing she would know who he was talking about. "The Uzumaki boy? Why am I not surprised you took him in?" she said with a sigh. She had nothing against the boy even though she knew why he was hated. He _was_ just a kid after all. "He's not Naruto Uzumaki now, he's Naruto Mouko now." Ryu replied grinning. "When you said adopted, you really meant it. Well I have nothing against him, when can I welcome him into the Pride aniki?" Kaori said with a smile.

"I want him to meet the whole Pride at the same time. Jiji told me about niisan, but not the others. Do you know where they are? I've only been back a couple of days and I haven't had time to try and track them down." Ryu asked them both.

"I believe Ryo, and Kyo are still living with their clans, but I'm not sure about Ran, I haven't seen him, heard from him or heard _about_ him since that night eight years ago." Kaori replied a bit sad. "Jiji what's she talking about." Ryu demanded.

"She's talking about the Uchiha massacre Ryu. Eight years ago Itachi Uchiha went on a killing spree and killed off most of the Uchiha clan. Neither of you have to worry however, Kyo is fine. Though only he and Sauske, Itachi's little brother survived that night." The Hokage replied. "And Itachi?" Ryu asked angrily. "He's now an S class missing Nin." The Hokage replied.

"I see, and where is Kyo jiji?" Ryu asked, worry for his Pride and anger at Itachi in his voice. "He's currently staying in an apartment in the village. Not many know he's here, since he doesn't want draw Itachi's attention here and possibly endanger Sauske." The Hokage replied.

"Great! He can come and live in the Lair again f he wants, so can everyone else! Guess I'll have to go talk to them then. Maybe they can help with Naruto otouto too!" Ryu said happily. "Thank you jiji! I guess I should go track them down while otouto is still in class. I'm having dinner tonight at the lair, you two are coming, right?" He said heading towards the door. "I'll defiantly be there, even if I have to sneak out!" Kaori said grinning. "Of course I will be there Ryu." The Hokage said "Ok, I'll see you later then; I'm going to track the others down now, see ya!" Ryu said leaving the office.

Once he left the office he headed to the Inuzuka clan home to find Ryo. Once he got there, he knocked on the door, knowing better than to walk inside without permission. Inuzuka Tsume was the one who answered the door. "Hello, how may I help you?" she said.

"Hi Tsume kaasan!" Ryu said grinning at the woman whom had become a second mother to him. It took her a moment, but she only remembered one person ever calling her that. "Ranma is that really you?" she asked. "Yep, except I changed my name, so it's now Ryu Mouko." He replied.

"Well, come on in and let me get a good look at you. It's been how many years now?" She said letting him inside. "Quite a few, Tsume kaasan." He replied. "And you've grown quite a bit as well. I'm glad you came to visit, you should've at least sent word you know." She said admonishing him. "I know, I guess I forgot, sorry Tsume kaasan." He said apologetically. "It's alright, I suppose you're here to see Ryo." She said. "Yep! Is he here?" Ryu asked hopefully. "Yes he is, he's out in the back yard training with Garou." She replied leading him through the house and to the backyard. "Ryo, Garou, you two have a visitor." She called once they got to the back yard.

They both stopped training to see who came to visit them and saw Ryu. They wouldn't have recognized them, except for his scent. "Ranma aniki! It's been too long!" Ryo said grinning with Garou barking his agreement. "I know and I'm sorry, Ryo otouto, Garou." Ryu replied. "I should tell you that, I've changed my name recently to Ryu Mouko." He informed them.

"So what are you doing back in the village anyway? Is it just to visit or are you staying?" Ryo asked. "I'm staying, at least for the foreseeable future." Ryu replied. "That's great! I take it you want Garou and I to move back into the lair then." Ryo said. "Yep, I'd like the whole Pride to start living in the lair again. I know jiji can't, but the rest of you can." Ryu said happily.

"I see no problem with that, though Kiba might be a bit upset that you won't be here at his beck and call." Tsume said chuckling. "He needs to stand on his own two feet anyway kaasan. Sure I'll move back in, when do you want me there?" Ryo asked. "Move your stuff in whenever you want, but I want you to be there for dinner tonight. I want the Pride to greet its newest member." Ryu replied. "You and Kuromaru are invited to dinner too Tsume kaasan." Ryu told Tsume. "Why thank you Ryu." She replied.

Well, I'm off to find the rest of the Pride. I already talked to Kaori imoutosan, and jiji. I'll see you tonight. Have fun training." Ryu said leaving. Once he left the Inuzuka home, he headed to the Aburame home. A few minutes of roof hopping and tree hopping, since they lived on the outskirts of the village, and he arrived at the home of the bug users.

Once there he knocked, hoping that Kyo was there, and he was in luck, as that's exactly who answered the door. "Hello?" Kyo said only to get knocked down by Ryu, who was currently purring with his cat ears and tail out nuzzling his friend. "Ooff, Hello Ranma, mind letting me up now?" Kyo said mirth in his voice. Once Ryu got off of him, Kyo scrached his ears a bit in greeting before inviting Ryu inside.

"Welcome Ranma, may I ask why you have graced me with your presence?" Kyo asked as he resumed scratching the other boy's cat ears. "The only response he got was louder purring from said boy. Since he wasn't going to get an answer immediately, he sent one of his bugs through the house, letting his father Shibi know they had a guest, seeing as his mother was gone at the moment.

Shibi Aburame was only a few rooms away, when he got the message of a guest from one of Kyo's bugs. When he entered the living room, where Kyo had lead Ryu Shibi saw his son scratching the ears of someone who seemed to be part cat. Since there was only one person he knew of that fit that particular description, he walked in and greeted the boy himself. "Hello Ranma, it's nice to see you after so long." Shibi said giving the boy a quick scratch.

After Kyo's father Shibi greeted him, Ryu moved away from the scratching so he could talk to them. "Hello youfu (adoptive father), Kyo otouto." Ryu said smiling. "I changed my name, call me Ryu now." Ryu told them. "Ok Ryu and what's your last name now?" Shibi asked knowing the boy had left that part out. "Mouko." Ryu said grinning. "That suits you aniki." Kyo said.

I'm glad you came back to the village, are you staying?" Shibi asked. "Yep, at least for the foreseeable future." Ryu replied. "You're here to take Kyo home then." Shibi said getting to the point. "Yep, that and to invite you and youbo (adoptive mother) to dinner tonight." Ryu replied.

"What's the occasion? I doubt you'd throw yourself a welcome back party." Shibi said. "Nope it's to introduce the Pride to its newest member." Ryu stated "Will I see you there?" he asked. "I'll have to talk to the rest of the family; however I don't see why you wouldn't." Shibi replied. I will get my stuff and take it to the lair, who else have you talked to?" Kyo asked. "Kaori imoutosan, Ryo otouto, and jiji. I am going to talk to Ran otouto once I leave here." Ryu replied. "I will see you later then Ryu aniki." Kyo said leaving to get his stuff. "Perhaps we will as well Ryu." Shibi said letting Ryu out.

Sadly Ryu forgot to get directions to Ran's apartment, so he headed back to the Hokage's office to ask his jiji. Luckily though, his jiji had realized this and had written them down and sent them via, Hatake Kakashi since the Jounin had nothing else to do. Unfortunately, he had no idea who this Ryu was, nor where he was. "I guess this is what I get for saying I'm bored in front of the Hokage." He thought to himself, sighing.

He had a description however and was glad when he saw someone fitting that description traveling across the roof tops heading towards the Hokage tower. He headed towards the boy taking a path that would intercept him and was surprised when after a couple of minutes the boy suddenly stopped and changed directions, heading straight for him.

Ryu noticed someone following him, trying to intercept him and wanted to know why. He didn't sense any ill intent from the other Nin, so he just changed course and headed straight for the man. Once they were close enough, they both stopped and Ryu began questioning the other Nin.

"Hello, who are you and why were you following me?" Ryu asked cocking his head to the side in curiosity. "I am Hatake Kakashi, are you Ryu Mouko?" The Jounin asked vaguely wondering why the boy was acting like he was. "Yes I am, why?" Ryu asked curiously, his head tilting to the other side.

"This is for you, Hokage Sama asked me to deliver it." Kakashi replied handing the paper to the boy who immediately opened it. "Thanks! I was just going to go see Hokage jiji about this." Ryu said. "See ya around!" Ryu said taking off in a different direction.

"I wonder who or what he really is, those eyes of his are strange and the way he acted is reminiscent of an animal. Apparently he sees Hokage Sama as family as well, hmm. Perhaps he is related to the Inuzuka clan?" Kakashi thought to himself as he headed back to tell the Hokage he had delivered what he had been asked to.

Ryu in the mean time was following his jiji's directions to Ran's apartment. It didn't take him long to get there, which was good, because he still needed to get his otouto from academy in a bit.

Luckily for him Ran was there and answered the door quickly. Before Ran could say anything however, Ryu spoke up. "Hello otouto, I am back! I've changed my name recently, it's Ryu Mouko, now let me in because we need to talk." Ryu said pushing his was past Ran, who just grumbled about rude aniki's and closed the door following Ryu into his living room.

He watched as his aniki sprawled out to the couch, the only seating at the moment, so he leaned against the wall. "Hello aniki and welcome to my apartment, now is there a reason you came or did you just decide to be rude today?" Ran asked slightly upset he had to stand. Ryu just snorted and said "You can sit you know. You always did give good scratches." While letting his cat ears and tail out.

"Hn, fine then, but you had better answer my questions." Ran replied walking over to the couch and sitting down lightly scratching his aniki's cat ears.

"I want you to move back into the lair Ran otouto. I've already talked to the others and they are moving back into the lair as well." Ryu stated through his purrs. "I doubt Kaori's uncle will just let her move out aniki, she _is _a branch member and you know how the main house feels about them. You know what can happen to her aniki." Ran said a bit upset.

"I'll speak to her uncle personally, don't worry Ran otouto." Ryu replied. "Very well, I'll move back into the lair, when do you want me there aniki?" Ran said. "Today if you can, I'm having everyone over for dinner." Ryu replied. "What's the occasion aniki?" Ran asked. "We have a new Pride member, and I want everyone to meet him and get to know him." Ryu replied

"I see, I'll get my stuff and move back immediately then." Ran said. "Can you meet me at the edge of the forest when you're done then?" Ryu asked him. "Sure aniki, I'll see you later then." Ran replied. "See you later otouto." Ryu said leaving. It seemed he still had some time before the academy let out and he had to pick up Naruto, so he figured he would go see his jiji again and then go talk to Kaori's uncle.

When he got to the Hokage tower, he walked straight to his jiji's office and asked the secretary what the Hokage was doing. When he was told that the Hokage was giving out minor missions, Ryu walked right in, knowing he would probably create a fuss and not caring in the least.

Hatake Kakashi was in the Hokage's office looking for something to do, again. When the doors suddenly opened and in walked the boy he had met earlier. He was a bit surprised when no one stopped the boy and even more surprised when said boy walked right up to the Hokage's desk and sat down upon it.

"Hi jiji, I'm back. I just finished talking to the others and they'll be moving back. Also everyone will be coming over for dinner, so you had better not miss it." Ryu said with a grin. "That is good to hear Ryu, and you know I would never miss one of your get togethers." The Hokage replied. "Good, or else I'd be forced to come and get you." Ryu said grinning happily. Ryu then turned to Hatake Kakashi to greet him. "Hello Hatake san, I am sorry if I interrupted anything, but I needed to see jiji. I'll be gone in a second though." Ryu told Kakashi. Ryu then turned back to the Hokage before he could reply.

"I need a favor jiji." Ryu said to the Hokage. "What do you need Ryu?" Sarutobi asked, Ryu rarely asked for a favor, and then never without reason. "I am going to Kaori imouto's uncle, I want her to move back as well, however I doubt that he'll let her, even with my arguments and I am afraid we might just end up fighting. I'd like your help." Ryu explained. "I'll see what can be done Ryu, however it will have to wait until tomorrow." The Hokage told Ryu. "Ok, that's fine jiji; I'll see you tonight then, good bye Hatake san. Ryu said leaving and heading towards the Hyuuga compound.

Hatake Kakashi could only stand there speechless, and confused. The Hokage just chuckled and said "Don't mind Ryu, Kakashi, he has a tendency to act a bit strange." "I understand Hokage sama." Kakashi replied, still a bit dazed.

It didn't take long for Ryu to get to his imouto's home, the Hyuuga compound. Getting there was not the problem however; it was getting in and then talking to the head of the main house that was the hard part. The place was tightly guarded by branch members. If he had been so inclined, he could have snuck in without too much of a problem, however he needed to convince his imouto's uncle to let her move out. That meant he would have to be polite and show he had manners.

Once he was close enough to the Hyuuga compound, he slowed down to a walk, so he didn't put the guards on alert. It only took a couple of minutes to get within the sight of the guards, who watched him as he approached, and it only took another couple of minutes to reach the gates. Once he had, one of the guards called out to him. "Halt, state your name and business here." He said to Ryu. "My name is Ryu Mouko and I am here to see Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan." Ryu said with a small but polite bow. "Do you have an appointment?" The guard asked Ryu. "No, however what I have to speak to him about is very important." Ryu replied politely. "Wait here and I will see if he is available." The other guard said, and then took off through the compound to find the head of the clan. "What a pain, I hate being polite to people who are so uptight" He thought.

While Ryu had been out and about, visiting the rest of the Pride, Kaori had taken care of her business with the Hokage and then found a fellow branch member waiting for her. He had told her he had been ordered to escort her home and that the clan head wished to speak with her. She knew why of course; however she didn't know what exactly she would tell him. She had made a promise to keep certain things secret and she was hoping she would be able to.

Luckily for her, her uncle was busy dealing with the elders when she got back, so she had some time to figure out what exactly she was going to tell him. She knew he would press her; however she wouldn't break her promise to her aniki. She would either have to get permission from Ryu to tell her uncle more, or get him to come and explain things himself. Not long after she had decided on what she would and would not tell her uncle, she was summoned to him. He questioned her about Ryu almost before the doors were closed and kept pressing her for information the whole time, even though she kept telling him she couldn't tell him certain things. Finally, there was a knock on the door just after she said "Uncle, I'm sorry, but I made a promise to Ryu aniki and I refuse to break it. If you want to know more, let me get aniki's permission first or talk to him yourself."

Hiashi was not happy at all. His niece wasn't cooperating. She was withholding information from him about Ryu Mouko. He was quickly loosing patience when someone knocked at the door. He went to see who was interrupting him and why, hoping he could calm down a bit in the time it took to deal with the person at the door. It turned out that the person at the door was one of the branch members on guard duty.

Though she was not supposed to, Kaori was listening in on what the guard and her uncle were saying. "Yes, what is it?" Hiashi said to the guard. "There is a boy outside, he says his name is Ryu Mouko and that he has something important to discuss with you Hiashi sama." The guard said. "Let him in and bring him here." Hiashi replied, thinking that perhaps he could get answers from the boy. Kaori was happy her aniki was here, it meant that she no longer had to dodge her uncle's questions. "It seems you get your wish for me to question the boy myself Kaori, however you _will_ stay here while I talk to him." Hiashi told her. "Yes uncle." She replied.

It didn't take too long for the guard to find the head of the clan, speak to him and return, which impressed Ryu a bit, though he didn't show it. Once the guard got back to the gate, he addressed Ryu. "Hiashi Sama will see you now, please follow me." The guard said, turned around and started walking back the way he had come. Ryu, of course followed him through the house to where Hiashi Hyuuga and his niece Kaori Hyuuga were talking. The guard knocked once and the door opened to show Hiashi, whom had Ryu enter and then sent the guard away. When Ryu entered, he noticed Kaori was there as well.

"Hello Hiashi san, Kaori imoutosan." Ryu greeted politely, with a short bow. "Hello Ryu aniki." Kaori answered. "Hello Mouko san, May I ask what the business you need to discuss with me is." Hiashi asked. "I came here to talk to you about your niece Kaori." Ryu replied. "And what business do you have with her?" Hiashi asked.

"I came to ask you to let her move out of the Hyuuga compound." Ryu said. "And where exactly would she stay, with you I suppose?" Hiashi asked. "Yes, with myself and a few others." Ryu replied. "And why exactly, should I let her move in with someone I know nothing about?" Hiashi pressed.

"What would you like to know Hiashi san? I will warn you now, there are some things I can not tell you, however I will do my best to answer your questions." Ryu replied politely, slightly surprising Kaori, though she knew he could be polite, she had half thought her aniki and her uncle were going to fight. "I would like to know exactly who you are as well as who else it is you wish my niece to live with. I would also like to know _where_ she would be staying." Hiashi stated. "Very well, I will tell you what I can." Ryu replied.

"As for who I am, my name is Ryu Mouko. I am a member of this village and a special Jounin who has been on a long term mission until recently. I am also the head of my small clan, and the leader of a special group of ninja's under the direct orders of the Hokage. That is all I _will_ tell you about myself, until I decide you can be trusted, _if_ I decide you can be.

Those Kaori will be staying with would be myself, my little brother, Kyo Aburame, Ryo Inuzuka and his dog Garou, and one other whom wishes to stay anonymous for the time being. All of whom are residents of this village. And where we will be staying is on the outskirts of the village in the forest. That is all I can tell you Hiashi san." Ryu explained calmly and politely.

"Unless I have more information I will not let my niece move out." Hiashi told Ryu a bit upset he didn't get more information and not believing half of what the boy said. "Then would you at least let her come to dinner tonight? The Hokage will be there, so you don't have to worry." Ryu said, a bit miffed at the head Hyuuga. "No. You may leave now." Hiashi said to Ryu with finality. "Very well Hiashi san. Kaori imoutosan, I will see you later." Ryu said leaving, obviously not happy.

Naruto would be out of academy soon, so Ryu headed there from the Hyuuga compound. He got there a couple of minutes early, so he just leaned against the tree outside and waited. "I guess I'll have to see if jiji will pick up Kaori imoutosan on his way then. Naruto and I will have to see to that before we meet up with Ran." Ryu thought to himself.

As soon as the students were let out, Ryu watched for Naruto and saw him getting into a confrontation with another student, one with a dog. "Great, I don't need him fighting with Ryo otouto's little brother." Ryu thought with a silent sigh and went to break it up. "I don't know _what_ you two are fighting about, but you will cease _now._" Ryu said to them with a slight growl, knowing that they would both hear it and understand the meaning behind it. The boy's dog even heard it and whimpered at his master.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of him Akamaru." The Inuzuka said to the puppy, who barked an affirmative. "But aniki, he started it." Naruto said trying to get out of trouble, which started the argument back up. "I said enough and I mean it." Ryu growled out dangerously. "Kiba, I believe it is? I will be informing your family about this fight. Naruto, you're coming with me, _now_." Ryu growled out turning and walking away, Naruto at his heal, not saying anything. "Aniki is scary when he's angry." Naruto thought.

Once they left the academy grounds, they headed towards the Hokage's office. "Naruto, you aren't supposed to get into fights. I'm disappointed you couldn't work things out. I have to see jiji about something, and then we're going to Kiba's house. After that we're going home, however I expect you to make amends with Kiba tomorrow, and I want you two to try and work things out." Ryu said to his little brother.

"But he started it!" Naruto protested. "And _you_ will end it! It takes two to start a fight, but only one to end it." Ryu said with a slight growl. Next time you have a problem with someone, try to work it out first. If that doesn't work, find someone to mediate, like a teacher. Fighting should only be a last resort, even for a ninja. If you can work things out you should do so." Ryu lectured, as they walked to the Hokage's office.

Once they made it to the Hokage's office, Ryu had Naruto stay outside while he spoke to the Hokage, getting his jiji to agree to pick up Kaori on his way to dinner. After that, he and Naruto headed to the Inuzuka's home, only to find no one home. Ryu decided that he could always tell Kiba's mother and big brother later that night anyway, so they headed home.

When they got just inside of the edge of the forest however, they were met by someone else. This person looked a bit intimidating so Naruto subconsciously took a step back so his aniki was between himself and the stranger.

"Ran otouto, I would like you to meet Naruto Mouko. I adopted him into my clan as well as the Pride. Kit, say hello to Ran, he's part of the Pride." Ryu introduced them. "Hello cub, you may call me aniki or niisan if you want." Ran said kneeling down to Naruto's level and giving him a warm smile. "He'll be living in the lair with us from now on kit. He's family." Ryu explained. "Um, hello." Naruto said.

"Ran otouto, please take the kit back to the lair and see if you can help him learn his way around. I'm going to check on the boundaries. Naruto, listen to Ran." Ryu said right before he took off, leaving a nervous Naruto with Ran.

"Don't worry cub, I won't hurt you. Once we get to the lair, I'll fix you a snack ok? I bet you could use one, and I believe you learn better after you've eaten." Ran said to Naruto. "Follow me cub." Ran said walking towards the Pride's territory and from there, their lair. Having no choice really, unless he wanted to be lost in the woods, he followed Ran. His aniki trusted him and called him otouto too, so Naruto figured he must be safe.

"Um Ran Sama, I have a question." Naruto said hesitantly. "Yes, what is it cub?" Ran asked looking at him in mild curiosity. "Why do you keep calling me cub?" Naruto asked. "First please don't call me Ran Sama, we _are_ family, call me either aniki or niisan. As for why I call you cub, it's because you are one. You are still a child and the youngest in the Pride, so I suggest you get used to being called cub." Ran replied. "Oh, um Ran sama, does that mean you _want_ me as your family?" Naruto asked, wondering if there really was someone else that cared for him like his aniki.

Hearing the stress on the word want. Ran realized that this question was very important to the cub, so he stopped walking, turned to face the boy, and knelt down to his level. Looking into Naruto's eyes, he saw a great many things, however, hope and sorrow were the two most prominent. Seeing such sorrow in one so young made him glad his aniki had adopted the boy. It was obvious he needed a good home with those who loved him. "Of course cub, you're my otouto now and always. So don't you forget it." He said pulling the blond boy into a hug and ruffling his hair a bit.

All Naruto could do was cry and hug Ran back. After awhile, he managed to calm down and pulled away to look at the older boy. "You really mean it?" Naruto asked Ran. "Of course cub." Ran replied smiling. At this Naruto grinned from to ear, he not only had a family, he had _two_ brothers! "Um, Ran niisan, I' hungry." Naruto said as his stomach grumbled. "Then let's go home and get you a snack cub." Ran replied with a chuckle. Now Naruto happily followed Ran.

Once they got back to the Lair, Ran led Naruto to the kitchen and fixed him a healthy snack. Much to the disappointment of Naruto, who was hoping for something worthy of inducing a sugar high. He ate it anyway, he _was_ hungry after all.

Ran then took him to the living room and began describing the lair and where the rooms and dead ends were located, as well as the other entrances and exits. In short, he described the lair's floor plan in some detail, and drew it out so Naruto had a visual of what he was learning. The dimensions weren't exactly right, however Naruto didn't need to know those, just relatively where everything was so he wouldn't get lost.

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**Author's Notes**

As you may have figured out, I need pre-readers. If you are interested and know at least a little bit about Ranma1/2 and Naruto, let me know.

I also need help with describing the floor plan of the Lair. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. If not, then in the next chapter, they will be vague. I will also try to do a story for what happened before this one, concerning the backgrounds of everyone, the time lines, exc… Any and all help is appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

**Notes**

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

The characters are going to be OOC. I have a reason for this.

I already have at least most of this typed, since I did it for National Novel Writing Month, but I am still editing it. I will post it as I get more edited. Also, to explain more of the background, like how Ranma got control of the neko-ken, I think I will post that separately after I figure out how to do so better than I have this one.

**Cdunwody**- I thought I had fixed that….Thanks for pointing it out, can you tell me which chapters he is still short in?...I can't find them... :(

**Asgeras**- I am not offended at that youth comment, so don't worry about it. I will keep that in mind, though I was thinking he would want Naruto to be better than him. I think I will have him do better as an example… kind of like rebelling against his father, Genma always tells him to never back down from a fight, so…

**Taeniaea**- Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying this.

**FalseExact**- I'm glad you like this, where it moves fast, I probably had no idea what to write, so I moved on… That or I was boring my self… :P

**Jerry Unipeg**- Thanks for the comment! I'm glad so many people are enjoying my story! I was afraid that since this is my first one, I would get mostly flames, but I have only gotten 1 bad flame!

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**Chapter 14**

"Ok cub, the lair may seem confusing right now and very big, however that's just because you don't know your way around yet. Pay attention and I'll help with that. Look here, this is where the main entrance starts outside." Ran started, drawing on a piece of paper. "Now, the main entrance is here, while this leads down into a few unused parts of the cave system we use." Ran said drawing a rough simile of the main entrance and caves.

"Once inside you can go a few places. There are a few hallways you can follow, here, here, and here." Ran continued drawing the hallways. "Down this one are the bedrooms, a few dead ends and the dojo." He said drawing those. "Down this one is the kitchen and living room, as well as a few dead ends and a way outside. And this one leads to the dojo, Ryu's office, a bathroom and outside." Ran explained.

"This is just this floor; there are several levels to the lair. There are a few higher up, as well as one lower level. Right now, though it doesn't feel like it, we're underground." Ran told Naruto. "To get to the lower level, you go down this hall and turn here." Ran told Naruto. "I thought that was a dead end Ran niisan." Naruto said. "It is if you don't know what to look for." Ran Replied.

"Down there is a library, a natural spring and another way outside as well as a few more dead ends." Ran told Naruto drawing those for him. "Do you understand so far or do you need me to explain anything?" Ran asked Naruto. "No I understand so far Ran niisan...I think." Naruto replied.

"Alright, now to go up, you have several options. The first is here, near the bedrooms. The next is near the kitchen and dining room, here, and another near the dojo. The higher levels are a bit more confusing, but I'll try to explain them so you understand. If you have a question, feel free to stop me and ask cub." Ran said before he began describing the higher levels. "Ok Ran niisan." Naruto replied.

"Ok, the next level holds a few locked rooms, and another bathroom, as well as a smaller dojo, one that can be used for ranged weapons practice, as it is longer than the main dojo. There's also a room that's set up for jutsu practice. We have it set to be able to take a lot of damage without worry, although I'd refrain from using the more destructive jutsus in there. There are also a few ways out on this level as well as more dead ends and some caves we use as storage space and a few unused ones." Ran said drawing the next level on another piece of paper for Naruto.

"So it's kinda like a weird loop." Naruto said. "Yes cub, but you should be careful when you explore, the cave system we're using is massive and we're only using a part of it. I'd suggest sticking to the parts we live in for now, until you can find your way around, and then explore the rest, so long as you can find your way back." Ran Explained, not wanting the boy to get lost. "Ok Ran niisan." Naruto replied.

"Now for the hardest part cub, the highest levels are a bit trickier. Look here, this is how you get to them. The study is here, and another library is here. A bathroom is here, and a larger dining room is here. There are a few unused rooms here, here and here. And ways out here, here, here, here, and here." Ran said drawing the next levels, showing Naruto they were separated strangely.

"See these here cub?" Ran asked pointing to a few places. "Yeah, why are they like that Ran niisan?" Naruto asked. "Because cub, they are actually inside the giant trees. When you can find your way around, you'll find that you can use some of the branches as walkways. So it'll look more like this." Ran said drawing those for Naruto. "Oh, cool!" Naruto said impressed.

"Why don't you try to memorize this cub?" Ran said handing the papers to Naruto. "Most of the doorways and such, especially to the different levels are hidden, so you'll need to learn how to find them, but it's still good for you to memorize where everything is." Ran told him smiling. I have a few things I need to put away in my room cub, once you're done, try to find your way to your room and put your stuff away, then see if you can find me. If I move from my room, I'll find you and let you know." Ran said, leaving Naruto to his own devices.

After awhile, Naruto thought he had things memorized, so he grabbed his stuff, keeping the drawing of the lair, and went in search of his room. He took only one wrong turn, but he made it, after consulting the makeshift map he had gotten from his Ran niisan.

Once he found his room, he put his stuff away and studied the map of the lair, trying really hard to memorize it, knowing he probably wouldn't be allowed to keep it. He then folded it carefully and put it in his pocket and went to find his niisan's room. This time, he made it without any problems. When he got to the door, he knocked, even though it was cracked open, Remembering Ryu's warning. Ran answered it immediately and smiled at him.

"I see you found me; does that mean you found your room?" Ran said as he opened the door. "Yep! I got lost once, but that's it Ran niisan!" Naruto said happily. "That's good to hear cub, now come on in, I'm not done in here yet." Ran said inviting Naruto inside his room with a smile.

Meanwhile, Ryu was doing a thorough check of his territory and making sure it was properly "marked", by using a special jutsu to fuse some of his charka with some of the trees and brushes, exc. It was a time consuming task, but it needed to be done, as it would keep some of the more dangerous animals away, as well as inform those who knew how to look, that this area was _his_.

While Ryu was doing this, and Ran was teaching Naruto, the other pack members were getting ready and heading towards the lair, all except Kaori, who was trying to figure out a way to get her uncle to let her take off for the night, and then maybe letting her move out.

Thank you for all the good Reviews!!!!!!


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